By Brijesh Patel
(Reuters) – Gold rose on Friday on bargain-hunting ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls report, after prices touched a two-week low in the previous session, but signs of easing U.S.-China trade tensions kept the safe-haven metal on track for its second weekly fall.
Spot gold was up 0.6% at $3,259.02 an ounce, as of 1018 GMT. Bullion has lost 1.8% so far this week.
U.S. gold futures rose 1.4% to $3,266.90.
“The general level of risk appetite has improved this
week due to hope that we will see an improvement in U.S.-China trade relation,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.
“We are few $100 from the highs and that potentially could indicate that has attracted some fresh what you call bottom fishing demand from investors who still believe that this underlying demand for gold is not done yet.”
China’s commerce ministry said the United States has repeatedly expressed its willingness to negotiate on tariffs and that Beijing’s door is open for talks.
Signs of possible U.S.-China trade talks lifted risk sentiment and dented allure for safe-haven assets such as gold. [MKTS/GLOB]
“We maintain a constructive outlook on gold as a tool to navigate political risks, as we anticipate ongoing volatility but strong long-term support from central bank buying, investment demand, and dedollarization trends,” UBS said in a note.
“Underallocated investors can use recent price weakness as an opportunity to build gold positions or rebalance existing structures for long-term resilience.”
The market now awaits the U.S. non-farm payrolls report due at 1230 GMT for more cues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path.
Non-farm payrolls likely increased by 130,000 jobs in April after rising by 228,000 in March, a Reuters survey showed.
Elsewhere, spot silver edged 0.1% higher to $32.42 an ounce, platinum rose 0.8% to $966.40 and palladium eased 0.2% to $939.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
