Gold futures end higher on prolonged trade tension

Singapore (Dec 4)  Gold futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives ended higher today due to prolonged trade tension between the US and China.

 Phillip Futures Sdn Bhd dealer Ong Su Lin said this was after US President Donald Trump said the trade deal between the two countries could extend until after the presidential election in November 2020.

 "The continuous trade uncertainty has pushed investors to safe havens. As the elections are expected to be held in November next year, it shows that the tension will continue to go on for another year or so," she said.

 The 59th quadrennial US presidential election is scheduled for Nov 3, 2020.

 At the close, December 2019 and January 2020 rose 34 ticks each to RM198.00 and RM198.70 per gramme respectively, while February 2020 and March 2020 both settled 48 ticks higher to RM199.60 and RM201.20 per gramme respectively.

 Distance month, April 2020 increased 54 ticks to RM203.30 per gramme with 20 lots traded.

 Volume was higher at 20 lots worth RM407,000 compared with two lots worth RM39,260 yesterday.

 Open interest rose to 152 contracts compared with 134 contracts yesterday.

 At 5 pm, the price of physical gold was up RM2.53 to RM192.45 a gramme.

Bernama.com