Gold Prices: Gains Lost For Third Session In A Row As US-China Uncertainty Mounts

With the release of minutes from September's Federal Reserve meeting set for Wednesday, gold prices saw morning gains Tuesday before pulling back to finish lower for the third straight session.

Prices had climbed due to doubts about a near-term trade resolution between the U.S. and China. This pushed traders away from riskier assets and towards haven assets such as bullion.

These haven assets became desirable after 28 new Chinese firms were blacklisted by Washington ahead of trade talks. This increased doubt among investors about the prospects of a trade agreement being reached by the two countries in upcoming talks.

“Upcoming China talks are deemed even more uncertain now,” George Gero, managing director for RBC Wealth Management, told MarketWatch. “Everywhere investors look around the globe they find reasons for worry and owning gold is one of the answers.”

December gold fell 0.03% Tuesday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, at $1,503.90 per ounce. December silver, meanwhile, gained 0.9% and finished at $17.70 an ounce, after dipping 0.5% in the last session.

The drop in gold prices is likely due to the ICE U.S. Dollar Index climbing 0.2% to 99.171, its highest point since April 2017. The Fed minutes can also impact the dollar.