Gold is heading for its third weekly gain on trade and growth

(Reuters) – The price of gold fell on Friday, but recorded a third consecutive weekly rise, with the yellow metal being seen as a safe haven value reinforced by concern over the slowdown in the economy. global economy and the lack of clarity of the trade war between the United States and China.

At 5:37 am GMT, gold in spot transactions dropped 0.3% to $ 1,518.60 an ounce, but rose about 1.5% from the start this week after increasing over the previous two weeks.

Futures on US gold fell 0.1% to $ 1,529.10 ounce.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he believed that China wanted a trade deal with the United States and that the dispute with Beijing would be rather brief.

This decision was made after Beijing promised to tackle the latest US tariffs on Chinese goods worth $ 300 billion, but invited the United States to meet at half way to reach a possible trade agreement.

With trade remaining unresolved, investors are protecting themselves against a global slowdown by buying safe badets, such as gold, the Japanese yen and US Treasury bills.

Earlier this week, 10-year US Treasury yields fell below two-year bond yields for the first time in 12 years. The large-scale reversal of the yield curve is a sign that the economy is heading for recession.

Gold has grown 7.4% or even more than $ 100 since the beginning of the month, due to rising trade tensions and a series of disappointing global economic data.

Meanwhile, the dollar index rose on Friday and is heading towards a weekly gain.

For other precious metals, silver fell 0.4% to $ 17.20 an ounce, but it is aiming for a second consecutive weekly gain.

Platinum fell 0.3% to 836.04 dollars an ounce, while palladium rose 0.2% to 1 448.01 dollars an ounce.

(Reuters)