
Gold Slides Lower as Hopes for a Trade Deal Dominate Market Sentiment
Gold prices have weakened into Wednesday over growing optimism that the US=China phase one trade deal will be ready for signing shortly. At the time of writing, GOLD is trading at a little above $1,459.
High level officials of the trade teams from the US and China held discussions early on Tuesday and announced that they were making progress towards finalizing the interim trade deal. Later in the day, US President Trump also confirmed to the press that the trade teams were in the final stages of negotiations in the first phase of the trade agreement.
The upbeat sentiment surrounding the trade war dented the safe haven appeal of gold, driving prices lower, while Wall Street rallied to close at record highs. Gold, however, received some support following the release of weak economic data from the US.
US consumer confidence declined for the fourth consecutive month in November while the trade deficit saw a steep decline during October as exports and imports fell lower. New home sales also registered a surprising decline in October, after having posted growth in recent months.