WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices edged lower on Thursday, extending losses from previous session, as risk appetite of investors increased amid optimism the upcoming meeting between the Presidents of China and the U.S. will help reignite trade talks.
The dollar remained steady around previous closing levels, contributing to gold's weakness.
The dollar index rose to 96.39 before easing to 96.23, up marginally from previous close.
Gold futures for August ended down $3.40, or 0.2%, at $1,412.00 an ounce.
On Wednesday, gold futures for August ended down $3.30, or 0.2%, at $1,415.40 an ounce.
Silver futures for September, the most active contracts, ended down $0.084, at $15.251 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $2.7165 per pound, up $0.0010 from previous close.
There is optimism ahead of the highly anticipated meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Japan this week.
Trump expressed confidence about U.S. and China agreeing on a deal, but said he is still considering imposing 'very substantial' tariffs on all Chinese imports if the two countries were unable to reach a deal during the meeting.
According to a report in The South China Morning Post, the U.S. and China have agreed to a tentative truce in their trade dispute that would help avert the next round of tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese imports.
A report from the Wall Street Journal said Xi plans to present Trump with a set of terms the U.S. should meet before Beijing is ready to settle the trade dispute.
Lifting the ban on the sale of U.S. technology to Chinese telecom giant Huawei, removing all tariffs and dropping efforts to get China to buy more U.S. exports are reportedly among the preconditions.
However, Trump is not likely to appreciate Xi dictating terms and has repeatedly threatened to escalate the trade war with new tariffs on the remaining Chinese imports.
In economic news from U.S.,a report from the National Association of Realtors showed pending home sales rebounded by slightly more than anticipated in the month of May.
NAR said its pending home sales index surged up by 1.1% to 105.4 in May after tumbling by 1.5% to 104.3 in April. Economists had expected the index to increase by 1%.
Data released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for unemployment benefits increased to 227,000, up 10,000 from the previous week's revised level of 217,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000.
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