Gold Prices Set For First Annual Decline In 3 Years

Gold prices fell on Monday as equities gained on likely progress in China-US trade standoff, amid bullion prices heading for their first annual decline since 2015, losing to the dollar mostly on trade worries and rising interest rates.

However, the precious metal was on track for its best month since January 2017, having scrambled back from sharp declines in the year due to volatility in equities and a subdued dollar, along with worries over slowing global growth.

Spot gold fell 0.2 per cent to $1,277.96 per ounce as at 0442 GMT (10:12 am in India) on Monday, near a six month high of $1,282.09 it hit on Friday.

US gold futures dipped 0.2 per cent to $1,280 per ounce.

"The trade war concerns between the US and China is slightly cooling down and that has lent support to the equity market," said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai, adding that there is some profit booking in gold ahead of the year-end.

China's President Xi Jinping said on a telephone call with US President Donald Trump on Saturday that he hopes to push forward a Sino-US relationship that is coordinated, cooperative and stable, Chinese state media reported.

Gold prices jumped about 5 per cent in December. The metal declined nearly 2 per cent for the year.

The dollar index has gained 4.6 per cent this year as the US currency had been the preferred safe haven this year as the US-China trade conflict unfolded against a backdrop of higher US interest rates, denting gold's demand.

Higher interest rates make gold less attractive since it does not pay interest and costs to store and insure.

Gold dropped over 15 per cent from a peak of $1,365.2 in April to a 1-1/2-year low in August this year to $1,159.96. The yellow metal has gained nearly 10 per cent since then.

"Over concerns of a slowdown of global economic growth and rate hike, gold is likely to recover the loss since mid-June and rise back to the trading range between $1,300 and $1,350," Wing Fung said in a research note.

Among the precious metals, palladium has been the best performer this year, rising about 18 per cent on strong demand from auto catalyst makers amid production shortages.

The metal was on track for a third straight year of gains, and was set to rise for a fifth consecutive month.

Silver rose 0.3 per cent to $15.39 per ounce in the session. However, declined over 9 per cent in the year.

Spot Platinum rose 0.1 per cent to $790.40 per ounce on Monday, but slipped about 14.5 per cent in 2018.