Early on Friday, gold prices edged sightly lower but remain all set for another weekly gain of at least 1.6%. At the time of writing, GOLD is trading at a little above $1,515 over fears of an escalated trade war and its impact on the global economy.

Even as Trump continues to maintain that he believes the trade dispute will be resolved shortly, China has expressed unhappiness with the US over its latest tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. Investors have made their minds up that the trade war will drag on for a longer period of time, hence the rising safe haven appeal.

So far this month, gold has gained almost 8% with prices rising by over $100 as a result of the trade war. The next focus as far as gold traders are concerned will be the Fed’s annual sump due to take place next week. Markets are widely anticipating that the Fed will lower interest rates again to support the weakening US economy. The recent yield curve inversion further reinforces these rate cut expectations.