Published: 2018.12.03. Gold and Metals Rise on Softer Dollar, Trade Deal

Gold and Metals Rise on Softer Dollar, Trade Deal - Preview

Gold prices rose on Monday in Asia while the dollar dropped after news that the U.S. and China agreed to put any new tariffs on hold for 90 days.

Gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange traded 0.25% higher at $1,229.10 a troy ounce by 10:24 PM ET (03:24 GMT). 

The precious metal has gained momentum since last Friday. It went up 0.6% from $1222.20 to test the $1230.00 mark on Monday morning as the dollar weakened.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, lost 0.30% to 96.9. The dollar edged up over the weekend to 97.213 following the Xi-Trump meeting but lost its steam Monday morning.

At a meeting during the G20 summit in Argentina over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to not introduce any new tariffs for 90 days. During that time, the two countries will work to resolve wider structural problems in the trade relationship.

Stocks and oil both surged after the Trump-Xi agreement. As part of the agreement, the U.S. will not increase the existing 10% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% and the two countries will step up trade talks for 90 days. After the time, if no deal is reached, the tariffs will go up.