Gold Prices Fall as Global Trade Tensions Ease

New York (June 10)  Prices of safe-haven gold fell on Monday in Asia as market sentiment was boosted by easing global trade tensions and strong trade data out of China data.

Gold futures for August delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, were down 1.0% at $1,332.05 per ounce by 1:15 AM ET (05:15 GMT).

Market sentiment was boosted after the U.S. and Mexico struck a migration deal late last week to avert a tariff war, after U.S. President Donald Trump previously threatened to slap a 5% import tariffs on all Mexican goods on Monday if Mexico did not commit to tightening its borders.

Meanwhile, data released on Monday showed that China’s overall trade surplus in May was significantly more than expected despite fears over the economic impact of the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade dispute.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said over the weekend that the U.S. will “go forward with our plan” to impose more tariffs if discussions with China do not go well.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to discuss trade-related issues with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this month in Japan during the G-20 meeting.

Some analysts still believe gold prices may touch $1,400 an ounce this year as investors hedge risk.

“All the dominant asset classes have a question mark over them at the moment, which is generally when gold comes into play,” Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia regions at INTL FCStone Inc, said in a Bloomberg report.

“There’s enough elements of risk in the outlook for world economies, there’s still a degree of geopolitical risk, currencies are looking volatile, and the fact that the market’s looking at a recession, the equity markets are obviously under threat,” he said.

Investing.com