LONDON: Gold gained on Friday and was on course for its best week in five amid continued uncertainty around Brexit and the health of the global economy, while a sustained supply crunch propelled palladium to a record high.

Spot gold was up 0.7 per cent at $1,513.52 per ounce at 1238 GMT, having earlier hit its highest since October 10 at $1,514.24. The precious metal has gained about 1.5pc this week.

US gold futures were up 0.7pc at $1,515.5.

On the trade front, top US and Chinese trade officials will discuss plans on Friday for China to buy more US farm products.

In return, Beijing will request the cancellation of some planned and existing US tariffs on Chinese imports, people briefed on the talks told Reuters.

Gold has gained about 17pc this year mainly due to the US-China trade spat and the resulting impact on the global economy.

Safe-haven buying is clearly a good solution for investors given the current geopolitical and economic scenario, said Afshin Nabavi, senior vice president at precious metals trader MKS SA.

Elsewhere, palladium was down 0.2pc at $1,774.68 an ounce, having earlier hit an all-time high of $1,785.50.

Palladium is in a strong uptrend supported by the fundamental story, Saxo Bank commodity strategist Ole Hansen said. “If we do break $1,785, we could see some additional buyers into that break, taking palladium to the 1,800 level.”

Silver climbed 3pc to $18.31 per ounce after hitting its highest since Sept. 25 at $18.33. It was up about 4pc for the week.

Platinum was up 0.9pc at $931.84, on course for its best week in eight.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2019