Mubasher: Gold prices received some safe-haven demand earlier on Thursday, recovering following a rout in global equities, as an inverted US bond yield curve raised fears over an incoming recession, Investing.com reported.

By 9:28 am GMT, spot gold rose by 0.16% to $1,518.78 per ounce, while US gold futures ticked up by 0.01% to $1,527.90 per ounce.

The US Treasury yield curve inverted on Wednesday for the first time since 2007, pointing to an incoming US recession.

Global equity markets dropped after the yield on the 30-year note yield hit a fresh record low, as the German 10-year bond yields and French 10-year OAT touched new lows.

It is worth noting that lower yields usually lend support to gold due to lower opportunity costs of holding non-yielding bullion.

Political turmoil in Hong Kong also gave a push to the yellow metal. After months of protests against an extradition bill to mainland China, Chinese companies were re-considering raising funds in Hong Kong, as per reported by Bloomberg, citing two senior bank officials.

One firm has just cancelled plans for a $500 million initial public offering (IPO), while the same move was being eyed by two other companies.

Moreover, US President Donald Trump hinted that he wants to hold a “personal meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the Hong Kong situation, while he expected a trade pact to come after China “work humanely with Hong Kong.”

On the trade front, efforts to clinch a deal between the US and China seemed to be leading nowhere, as US officials stated that Beijing made no concessions after the US administration delayed the 10% tariffs on more than $150 billion worth of Chinese imports, according to Reuters.