Early on Wednesday, gold prices are trading steady, close to a monthly high, on account of fresh concerns of a delay in the resolution of the US-China trade war. At the time of writing, GOLD is trading at a little above $1,479.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump sent the safe haven metal soaring on his comments that an end to the trade war could delay beyond the 2020 presidential elections in the US. Markets had lately been trading optimistically expecting a phase one trade deal to be signed within the end of this year.

The risk-off sentiment was back in markets earlier this week after Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina and threatened to hike tariffs on French imports in retaliation to the digital tax on American tech companies. To make matters worse, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also hinted that a trade deal with China could take longer as the focus was on resolving all issues.

Gold also traded bullish as US-China relations threatened to sour once again after the recent move lower following the signing of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy law. On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives backed another legislation that could empower the US government to act against China on its treatment of Uighur Muslims.