Gold rises to $1,473.04 per ounce as Sino-US trade deal doubts resurface; Donald Trump unlikely to rollback tariffs

Gold inched up to its highest in more than one-and-half weeks on Tuesday, as fresh doubts about a trade deal between the United States and China dented appetite for riskier assets. Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,473.04 per ounce. It had hit the highest level since 7 November at $1,475.40. The US gold futures edged up 0.2 percent to $1,474.10 per ounce. Citing a government source, CNBC reported that Beijing was pessimistic about a trade deal with the United States, troubled by President Donald Trump’s comments that there was no agreement on rollback of tariffs. [caption id=“attachment_4229905” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Asian shares started Tuesday softer as another day awaiting clearer news on the progress of trade negotiations between the two major economies weighed on jaded investors’ sentiment. The United States is gravely concerned about deepening political unrest and violence in Hong Kong, secretary of state Mike Pompeo said, urging the city’s government to tackle public concerns and China to honour its promises of liberties. China’s top legislature said Hong Kong courts had no power to rule on the constitutionality of legislation under the Asian financial hub’s Basic Law, which includes a proposed ban on face masks, state news agency Xinhua said. The dollar held close to a two-week low, with demand hurt by receding hopes for a preliminary trade truce. Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell met at the White House on Monday, “to discuss the economy, growth, employment and inflation”, two days before the Fed is set to release the minutes of the year’s last policy meeting. Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp is keen to top its $1.5 billion target for asset sales after shedding its half of the Super Pit gold mine in Western Australia, chief executive officer Mark Bristow said. SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.56 percent to 891.79 tonnes on Monday from 896.77 tonnes on Friday. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the bank would keep its monetary policy bias towards additional easing, in view of overseas risks that cloud the economic outlook. Elsewhere, silver gained 0.2 percent to $17.05 an ounce, while palladium fell 0.4 percent to $1,730.17 an ounce. Platinum inched up 0.1 percent to $894.80.