Gold eases after hitting three-week high

Gold prices slipped after hitting a three-week high on Monday, with attention focused on trade talks and U.S. economic data, while silver climbed to its highest level since September 2011.

Spot gold was down 0.3% at $3,344.76 per ounce after reaching its highest point since June 23 earlier.

U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $3,356.90.

The U.S. dollar hit a near three-week peak, making dollar-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders.

After a significant price increase, we’re seeing some profit-taking; however, the gold market remains largely well-bid overall, said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.

The European Union and South Korea said they were working on trade deals with U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump stepped up his trade war on Saturday, saying he would impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the EU and Mexico from next month, adding to similar warnings for other countries, including Japan and South Korea.

Investors now await Tuesday’s U.S. Consumer Price Index data and the Producer Price Index report on Wednesday for clues into the Federal Reserve’s potential policy path.

“We’ve had the U.S. President continue to make remarks that he would like to see lower interest rates and that I think in the end is fairly supportive for gold,” Melek added.

Gold’s attractiveness increases in a low-interest rate environment since it is a non-yielding asset.

Spot silver shed 0.6% to $38.12 per ounce, hitting its highest level since September 2011 earlier in the session.

“Silver has firm fundamentals, with the metal being in a supply deficit and demand, especially in solar remaining robust,” said WisdomTree commodities strategist Nitesh Shah.

“Performance is catching up with gold, with the gold to silver ratio approaching 86.”

Elsewhere, platinum fell 2.8% to $1,360.91 and palladium dropped 2.2% to $1,187.95, after logging a more than eight-month high earlier in the day.

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