Published: 2019.06.10. Gold Prices Fall on Strong China Data, U.S.-Mexico Deal
Prices of the safe-haven gold fell on Monday in Asia as stocks rose on strong China data and a U.S.-Mexico agreement.
Gold futures for August delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, were down 1.0% at $1,332.05 per ounce by 1:15 AM ET (05:15 GMT).
China’s overall trade surplus in May was significantly more than expected despite fears of an ongoing Sino-U.S. trade dispute, official data showed this morning.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Mexico struck a migration deal late last week to avert a tariff war, after U.S. President Donald Trump previously threatened to slap a 5% import tariffs on all Mexican goods this week if Mexico did not commit to tightening its borders.
Despite the fall today, some analysts still believe bullion may touch $1,400 an ounce this year as investors hedge risk.
“All the dominant asset classes have a question mark over them at the moment, which is generally when gold comes into play,” Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia regions at INTL FCStone Inc, said in a Bloomberg report.
“There’s enough elements of risk in the outlook for world economies, there’s still a degree of geopolitical risk, currencies are looking volatile, and the fact that the market’s looking at a recession, the equity markets are obviously under threat,” he said.
Gold prices received some support late last week by a weak U.S. jobs report released on Friday, which raised expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates. Analysts were already expecting a cut before the data came out, as intensifying trade tension between the U.S. and China raised concerns of a slowing global economic growth.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell indicated last week that the central bank would “act as appropriate to sustain the economic expansion."
On the Sino-U.S. trade front, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said over the weekend that the U.S. will “go forward with our plan” to impose more tariffs if discussions with China do not go well.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to discuss trade-related issues with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this month in Japan during the G-20 meeting.