Gold prices firmed on Wednesday as trade and political tensions ratcheted up between United States and China, while investors awaited minutes from the US Federal Reserve's October meeting.
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,475.63 per ounce by 0742 GMT. US gold futures were unchanged at $1,474.00 per ounce.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese imports if no deal is reached with Beijing.
The US Senate passed a bill backing human rights in Hong Kong and passed a second legislation to ban export of certain munitions to Hong Kong police forces. China condemned the moves and summoned an US embassy official to demand that the US stop its meddling.
"There are concerns that the latest bill passed in the US in support of the Hong Kong protesters might derail the progress in the US-China trade deal," Ilya Spivak, a senior currency strategist at DailyFx said.
However, gains in gold are limited as investors are "not quite prepared to take a firm bet ahead of the US Federal Reserve's minutes," Spivak added.
"Given the trade risks, the decline in manufacturing activity globally, there could be one more rate cut (in the next year), but overall there will be a longer pause," said Hitesh Jain, vice president, Yes Securities.
Lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost for holding the non-yielding bullion.
"The precious metal, though facing bearish pressures over a strong rally in the equities market, will remain vigorous over subdued global growth and geopolitical uncertainties in Q4," Phillip Futures analyst Benjamin Lu said in a note.
Spot gold may rise into a range of $1,480-$1,485 per ounce, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
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