Gold prices gain on falling equities markets

Gold prices rose on Monday in Asia amid escalating Sino-U.S. trade dispute, while political concerns in Hong Kong also spurred safe-haven demand.

Gold futures for December delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were up 0.5% at $1,464.20 by 1:20 AM ET (05:20 GMT).

“Gold is certainly benefiting from the global concerns about the outlook for growth, and central banks are likely to maintain their accommodative stance, so safe-havens like gold are in demand,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, in a CNBC report.

“Trade tensions between the U.S. and China is an important factor, the potential for escalation is very high… we might not get what markets are fearing, but it is all adding to the real concerns about the outlook for growth assets,” McCarthy added.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced additional tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports.

China has vowed to fight back, according to local reports, which did not give any further details.

The sudden escalation in the China-U.S. tension sent traders to traditional safe-haven assets including the yen, which rose 0.5% against the U.S. dollar today, and gold, while Asian equities traded in the red today.

Political unrest in Hong Kong also dampened investor sentiment, as the city saw a citywide strike to protest against chief executive Carrie Lam who refused to give in to demands including a complete withdrawal of the highly controversial extradition bill and an inquiry into police actions over the handling of demonstrations.