Gold prices rose on Monday in Asia. News on Brexit develop and the Sino-U.S trade war remained in focus.
Gold futures for June delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, were up 0.2% at $1,286.55 per ounce by 1:20 AM ET (05:20 GMT).
Traders await more trade-related news as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month at the G-20 meeting in Japan.
The precious metal entered a new phase of uncertainty on its role as the leading safe-haven asset, as markets seemed to preferred the U.S. dollar as a hedge against the Sino-U.S. trade war.
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May announced her decision to resign on Friday, raising fresh questions about Britain’s divorce from the EU.
Gold’s direction in the coming week would be decided by May’s replacement, and whether the candidate will continue pushing for Brexit, said senior commodity analyst Barani Krishnan.
Traders said chances of a «no deal» Brexit scenario has increased as four of eight leadership hopefuls said the U.K. must leave the EU on Oct. 31 even if this means a no-deal Brexit.
Elsewhere, markets are also paying close attention to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next move, as a string of weak data from the U.S. late last week promoted bets for a much expected rate cut by the central bank.
Over the weekend, Trump repeated a complaint that the Federal Reserve’s policies have kept U.S. economic growth from reaching its full potential.
