Investing.com - Gold prices pushed higher on Monday boosted by the softer dollar and in escalation in trade tensions between the U.S. and China, which underpinned safe haven demand for the precious metal.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $8.00 or 0.6% to $1,335.3 a troy ounce by 04:39 AM ET (08:39 AM GMT).
China announced Monday that it is increasing tariffs by up to 25% on certain U.S. imports in response to U.S. duties on imports of aluminum and steel.
The move intensified trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, which investors fear could escalate into a full blown trade war and deal a blow to the global economy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last down 0.21% to 89.56.
Investors seek out gold as a store of value during times of political or economic uncertainty, while a weaker dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Trade volumes looked likely to remain low on Monday with markets in Europe shut for the Easter holiday, while U.S. markets were to re-open after the Good Friday holiday.
Investors were looking ahead to the Institute for Supply Management’s U.S. manufacturing index later in the day.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures advanced 1.12% to $16.450 a troy ounce, while platinum futures were up 0.99% at $941.80.
Among base metals, copper futures were up 1.21% to $3.062 a pound.