Gold steadied in price on Friday as a weaker U.S. dollar helped offset pressure from increased appetite for riskier assets following reports of a breakthrough in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations, while palladium scaled a fresh peak.
Spot gold was virtually unchanged at $1,469.90 U.S. per ounce, but was up about 0.7% so far this week. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1% at $1,474.40 U.S.
Sources said on Thursday U.S. negotiators were offering to cut existing tariffs on Chinese goods by as much as 50% and suspend new tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Sunday.
U.S. stocks surged to record highs, while Asian equities rose to an eight-month peak, making safe-harbour risk-off assets such as gold less appealing.
The dollar was hovering close to its lowest since early July, putting a floor under gold prices.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a resounding election victory on Friday that will allow him to take his country out of the European Union by the end of January.
Market participants are now awaiting November U.S. retail sales data, due later in the day.
Elsewhere, palladium rose 2% to $1,977.98 U.S.an ounce, having notched an all-time high of $1,979.50 U.S.
Plagued by supply deficit, the metal has gained about 5% so far this week, predominantly supported by mine closures across major producer South Africa.
Platinum fell 0.7%, to $936.91 U.S. per ounce, but was on track to post its best week since August-end.
Silver dipped 0.1% to $16.92 U.S., but was set to post its best weekly gain since the end of October.
