WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices were subdued on Tuesday as optimism prevailed over U.S.-China trade talks and investors awaited a possible Federal Reserve interest-rate cut.
Spot gold dropped 0.4 percent to $1,486.49 per ounce, after losing nearly 1 percent the previous day. U.S. gold futures were down half a percent at $1,488.30 an ounce.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said that the first phase of a trade pact with China could be signed 'ahead of schedule' and the aim was to sign the accord at the APEC summit between him and Xi in Chile next month.
Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are scheduled to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on November 16-17 in Santiago, Chile. Trump described the pact as the first part of a process that could unfold in three phases.
The United States Trade Representative said it is studying whether to extend tariff suspensions on $34 billion of Chinese goods set to expire later in December.
A two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve gets underway later today, with market participants believing that a reduction of 25 basis points in the target range for the federal funds rate would be appropriate amid continued worries of a global economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, after the British parliament rejected a plan by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to organize a snap election, Johnson will make another attempt today to get lawmakers to approve an early national election. The legislation requires a simple majority to be passed.
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