WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures ended higher on Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak, as traders opted for the safe haven asset ahead of U.S.-China trade talks.
Gold futures for December ended up $8.90, or 0.6%, at $1,512.80 an ounce. Gold futures edged up further after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its monetary policy meeting in September.
On Tuesday, Gold futures for December ended down $0.50, or about 0.03%, at $1,503.90 an ounce, after hitting a high of $1,514.30 around mid morning.
Silver futures for December ended up $0.110, at $17.810 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.5680 per pound, up $0.0005 from previous close.
In trade news, there was something to cheer about on Wednesday. According to reports, China is open to reaching a partial trade deal with the U.S. despite the imposition of visa restrictions and blacklisting of Chinese artificial intelligence companies by the U.S.
An official with direct knowledge of the talks told Bloomberg that negotiators aren't optimistic about securing a broad agreement to end the U.S.-China war but said China would accept a limited deal as long as President Donald Trump does not impose any more tariffs.
In return, the official told Bloomberg, Beijing would offer non-core concessions like purchases of agricultural products without giving in on major sticking points.
On the Brexit front, the British government signaled that it intends to bring a revised Brexit deal back to Parliament, raising hopes that a deal could yet be reached before 31 October.
According to a report in The Times, the EU is ready to make a major concession on a Brexit deal by providing a mechanism for the Northern Irish assembly to leave a new Irish backstop after a set number of years.
The Fed's minutes today revealed that some participants at the bank's monetary policy meeting in September expressed concerns that the markets expect more interest rate cuts than are appropriate.
The minutes said those participants felt it might become necessary for the Fed to seek a better alignment of market expectations regarding the path of rates with policymakers' own expectations.
'Several participants suggested that the Committee's postmeeting statement should provide more clarity about when the recalibration of the level of the policy rate in response to trade uncertainty would likely come to an end,' the Fed said.
The Fed minutes noted that most participants believed that the 25 basis point rate cut announced after the September meeting was appropriate, although there was notable dissent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX