Gold Prices Near Flat; Fed Meeting, Trade News Eyed

Investing.com - Gold prices stayed near flat on Monday in Asia as traders awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting later this week and updates on the Sino-U.S. trade developments.

U.S. Gold Futures were little changed at $1,464.85 by 1:10 AM ET (05:10 GMT).

The yellow metal suffered a steep drop on Friday following a better-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which sent the U.S. dollar and stocks higher.

U.S. Labor Department data showed that employers added 266,000 jobs in November - the most since 312,000 in January.

On the Sino-U.S. trade front, markets are waiting to see what happens as the Dec. 15 deadline for more tariffs on Chinese goods approach.

A “phase one” trade deal has so far remained elusive, but White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in an interview with Bloomberg that both sides are “still close” to agreeing on a phase-one trade deal.

U.S. President Trump “likes what he sees so far in the trade deal with China,” Kudlow added.

Looking ahead, traders now await the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that begin on Tuesday. While the Fed is likely to keep rates steady following the strong jobs data released last week, investors will focus on the outlook for next year and beyond.

Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.The safe-haven metal has surged more than 13% so far this year after the Fed cut rates three times this year on the backdrop of the U.S.-China trade war and its impact on economy.

Related Articles

Oil Prices Drop but Still Near 12-Week High on OPEC+ Cuts

Goldman Lifts 2020 Oil Forecasts as OPEC Cuts Tighten Market

Oil prices slip as weak China exports highlights trade war impact