LONDON: Gold edged lower on Wednesday ahead of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s September meeting, with risk sentiment boosted by a report China was still open to agreeing a partial trade deal with the United States.

Spot gold eased 0.2 per cent to $1,501.91 per ounce by 1150 GMT, holding above the key $1,500 level after rising as much as 1pc in the previous session. US gold futures were up 0.2pc to $1,507.20 per ounce.

A Bloomberg report on Wednesday said China was still open to agreeing a partial trade deal with the United States, citing an official with direct knowledge of the talks.

European stocks moved sharply higher on the news.

“All of a sudden there is renewed optimism regarding a partial (trade) agreement because of a report that said China seems to still be willing despite all these stumbling blocks laid out by the US this week,” Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said.

Ahead of high-level trade talks on Thursday, the US on Tuesday imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials for the detention or abuse of Muslim minorities. US President Donald Trump has said tariffs on Chinese imports will rise on October 15 if no progress is made in the negotiations.

Market participants are uncertain if a breakthrough can be achieved between Washington and Beijing in the long drawn out trade dispute that has rattled financial markets.

“The initiatives to block US investors from investing into Chinese companies or limiting Chinese companies in the US markets, all that is signalling that there is no clear line whether the US wants a trade agreement with China,” said Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig.

Elsewhere, silver rose 0.4pc to $17.78 an ounce, while platinum fell 0.5pc to $885.01. Palladium eased 0.1pc to $1,674.80 an ounce.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2019