WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices edged higher on Friday as U.S. stocks declined amid escalation in U.S.-China trade war after the U.S. increased tariffs on Chinese goods and China said it would retaliate by imposing sanctions on U.S. goods.
A weaker dollar too contributed to the uptick in price of the safe haven asset.
The dollar index declined to a low of 97.13 before recovering some lost ground. It was down by about 0.1% at 97.32 a little while ago.
Gold futures for June ended up $2.20, or 0.2%, at $1,287.40 an ounce.
On Thursday, gold futures ended up $3.80, or 0.3%, at $1,285.20. For the week, gold futures gained about 0.5%.
Silver futures for July ended up $0.017, at $14.790 an ounce, while Copper futures for July settled at $2.7745, up $0.0030 from previous close.
The U.S. increased tariffs to 25% from existing 10%, on over $200 billion worth of Chinese goods today, even as talks between the two countries continued.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he is in no hurry to sign a trade deal with China. Meanwhile, China has responded to the tariff hike by the U.S., saying it would retaliate by imposing sanctions on U.S. goods.
In U.S. economic news today, data from the Labor Department showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly less than anticipated in the month April, rising 0.3% after climbing by 0.4% in March. Economists had been expecting another 0.4 percent increase.
Compared to the same month a year ago, consumer prices in April were up by 2%, reflecting a modest acceleration from the 1.9% growth in March.
The annual rate of growth in core consumer prices also crept up to 2.1% in April from 2% in the previous month.
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