At the start of a brand new trading week, gold continues to trade weak as hopes for a trade deal between the US and China keep its safe haven appeal in check. At the time of writing, GOLD is trading at a little above $1,462.

The risk appetite is back in global financial markets on the back of promising comments from trade officials on both sides, with increased optimism for a rollback on additional tariffs as well. The tariff hikes imposed by the US and China had weighed heavily on economic growth not just in these two markets, but also had a fallout effect on other global markets, suppressing demand.

Gold lost around 3.2% of its value over the previous week, closing at around $,1461. This was the lowest level for the precious metal prices since November 2016.

Speaking about the trade war over the weekend, US President Donald Trump confirmed that negotiations were making progress but any deal signed will have to be ideal for the US. Trump expressed optimism that China was keen on finalizing the deal, but failed to sound positive about the prospects of removing more tariffs on Chinese goods.