Mubasher: Gold prices declined on Monday after the US and China expressed their desire to ink an interim trade agreement by the end of this year, according to Reuters.

By 7:42 am GMT, US gold futures fell by 0.37% to $1,465.10 per ounce, while spot gold edged down by 0.19% to $1,459.18 per ounce.

Positive noises over the weekend from Washington re-ignited optimism in global markets about the trade talks between the US and China, lending support to Asian equities.

“Trade optimism is sending global equities higher and capital is fleeing away from safe havens into risk assets,” CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang Yan was quoted by Reuters.

The US dollar also recovered on Friday after a survey showed the US manufacturing output grew faster in November, while the services sector expansion picked up more than expected.

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six key rivals, ticked down to 98.2270.

However, limiting declines was a caution that gripped investors as US and Chinese officials saying an ambitious “Phase Two” trade deal looked less likely.

“US economic data will likely factor a lot into gold traders’ decision making into year-end as will the ebb and flow of trade talks [but] ultimately, it's all about the [Federal Reserve] policy, US interest rates and the dollar,” a note by AxiTrader market strategist Stephen Innes was quoted by the news agency.