Gold price bounced back on Monday after dipping to a near 2018 low last week as the dollar slipped ahead of the first official dialogue between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin summit in Helsinki later in the day. 

Trump played down expectations for the upcoming talks as he said in an interview with CBS news on Sunday that he is going in “with low expectations.”

Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.27% to $1,244.60 a troy ounce by 01:45AM ET (05:45 GMT).    

The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the dollar against a basket of six major currencies was quoted at 94.41, down 0.03% on the day. 

The precious metal was under pressure in recent weeks by investors’ favour of the dollar over gold surrounding the impact of a U.S.-China trade war.  

The dollar plays a crucial role in determining gold’s direction, as a stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency.  

The U.S. currency has been gaining last week due to the trade tension between the world’s two largest economies and the strong U.S. inflation. If the greenback maintains a robust tone, gold will continue to lose ground. 

Continued trade war concerns and a strong U.S. inflation report were cited as tailwind for the dollar last week.  The greenback rose on Friday after U.S. consumer prices data showed a build-up of inflation pressure that would make a fourth raise of the interest rate by the Federal Reserve Bank possible this year. 

China released a set of Q2 data on Monday with a 6.7% GDP growth, its slowest pace since 2016, but in line with the market expectations. 

The country’s industrial output grew 6% year-on-year in June, which was slower than the expected 6.5%. Retail sales on the other hand rose 9% year-on-year in June, beating the general consensus of a 8.8% increase. The slower growth in industrial production may provide a possible support for the safe haven yellow metal, analysts said on Monday.