Gold futures struggled for direction Tuesday as investors kept an eye on developments surrounding Brexit and U.S.-China trade talks.
Gold for December delivery GCZ19, -0.02% on Comex were up $1.10, or 0.1%, at $1,489.20 an ounce, while December silver SIZ19, -0.52% was off 3.7 cents, or 0.2%, at $17.565 an ounce.
A firmer tone for U.S. equities helped rob gold of its haven appeal on Monday, noted Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank, in a note. Stock-index futures pointed to a higher start for Wall Street on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson aimed to bring his deal dictating the terms of the U.K.’s exit from the European Union back to parliament for a vote this week after lawmakers on Saturday forced him to ask Brussels for another delay to the withdrawal.
Read: Lawmakers to challenge Johnson push to heave Brexit bill over line
On the trade front, President Donald Trump on Monday said a trade deal between the U.S. and China was “coming along very well.”
Gold’s decline on Monday, however, was met by buying by exchange-traded fund investors, Fritsch noted, with Bloomberg showing inflows of 2.6 tons.
Inflows since the beginning of the month have totaled 33 tons, he said, with outflows on just two days of trading.
In other metals trade, January platinum PLF20, +0.04% was off 20 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $892 an ounce, while December palladium PAZ19, +0.08% was up $3.60, or 0.2%, to $1728.90 an ounce.
December copper HGZ19, -0.42% was off 0.4 cent, or 0.2%, at $2.6425 a pound.