Gold gains on weaker dollar as US-China talks in focus
Gold prices rose on Monday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar ahead of U.S.-China trade talks aimed at resolving tensions, while platinum extended gains for a sixth straight session to scale a four-year peak.
Spot gold rose 0.3% to $3,318.76 an ounce, as of 1007 GMT, after dropping earlier in the session to $3,293.29, its lowest level since June 2.
U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $3,339.70.
The dollar fell 0.3% against a basket of peers, making bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Investors recognise that drivers of gold, including trade and geopolitical tensions, debt concerns and weak economic growth, remain in place and should continue to support the metal in the months ahead, said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS.
U.S. and Chinese officials will sit down in London on Monday for talks aimed at defusing the trade dispute between the two superpowers.
Stronger-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls data have led investors to scale back expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year from two to one in October.
Market attention will turn to U.S. CPI data, due on Wednesday, for further clues on the Fed's monetary policy path.
Gold, considered a safe-haven asset during political and economic uncertainty, tends to thrive in a low-rate environment.
Meanwhile, China's central bank added gold to its reserves in May for the seventh straight month, official data showed.
Spot platinum rose 3.1% to $1,201.75, its highest level since May 2021.
"It (platinum's rally) is supported by a combination of tight supply expectations, improving industrial sentiment, and technical follow-through from the broader precious metals rally," said Alexander Zumpfe, a precious metals trader at Heraeus Metals Germany.
Spot silver was up 1% to $36.30 per ounce, while palladium rose 2.7% to $1,074.76.
(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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