Gold edges up ahead of Sino-U.S. trade talks
- "Gold has been in a range of less than $100. It will take a strong catalyst to bring gold out of this channel,"
- U.S. gold futures slipped 0.1pc to $1,511.00 per ounce.
Spot gold inched 0.1pc higher to $1,505.38 per ounce, as of 0612 GMT.
Prices had firmed 0.5pc last week on fears of cooling global growth.
U.S. gold futures slipped 0.1pc to $1,511.00 per ounce.
The next round of U.S-China trade talks are set to be held in Washington on Oct. 10-11, although hopes of progress diminished after a report that Chinese officials wanted the scope of this week's negotiations to be narrow.
There is uncertainty regarding the trade negotiations. China seems to be very reluctant to agree, said Margaret Yang Yan, a market analyst at CMC Markets. "There is demand for safe haven assets, which reflects a very cautious mood towards the trade deal."
The long-drawn trade tussle between the world's two largest economies has toppled markets globally and triggered fears of a possible recession.
"Gold has been in a range of less than $100. It will take a strong catalyst to bring gold out of this channel," Yan said, adding that quantitative easing by the U.S. Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan could be a major factor.
Jobs growth in the United States slowed in September and wage growth stalled, even as unemployment dropped to a 50-year low, a report on Friday showed.
But that did little to change market expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will likely cut interest rates at its next policy review on Oct. 29-30 to support the economy.
Meanwhile, China's foreign exchange reserves fell more than expected in September amid a cooling domestic economy and the rising trade tensions.
Spot gold may test a support at $1,488 per ounce, a break below which could cause a fall towards the range of $1,446-$1,462, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Among other metals, platinum rose 0.3pc to $878.87, silver dipped 0.1pc to $17.54 and palladium was little changed at $1,665.67.