Investing.com - Gold prices inched up on Thursday in Asia, but gains were limited as traders awaited more clarity on the Sino-U.S. trade talks progress.
Gold futures for December delivery were up 0.2% at $1,513.95 per ounce by 11:59 PM ET (03:59 GMT).
“There’s a potential rate cut in the Fed’s next policy decision and the U.S.-China trade war is clearly weighing on the U.S. economy as well,” said Eli Tesfaye, senior market strategist for commodities at RJO Futures in Chicago.
In the minutes of its September meeting published on Wednesday, the Fed said market participants may be anticipating more rate cuts than the central bank deemed necessary to stimulate the economy. So far this year, the Fed has conducted two quarter-point rate cuts back to back in July and September, to try and preserve the U.S. economy's record decade-long growth.
Meanwhile, traders awaited more clarity regarding the Sino-U.S. trade war. Markets remained cautious as conflicting signals seemed to be coming out from both sides as trade talks resumed this week.
Some reports said today that China is open to a partial deal with the U.S., if no more tariffs are imposed on Chinese goods. Beijing also reportedly offered purchases of agricultural products.
However, other reports said that Chinese negotiators are not optimistic about reaching a broad agreement that would end the trade war between the two sides, and that the China delegation is planning to leave Washington on Thursday instead of Friday as previously planned.
The U.S. places multiple Chinese tech firms on a blacklist this week, escalating tensions with China just days before the trade talks was set to begin.