Gold hits 2-month high as recession worries drive safe-haven demand

Gold prices rose on Monday to their highest in more than two months, with investors seeking refuge in safe-haven assets as heightened Sino-U.S. trade tensions and Washington’s threat of tariffs on Mexico stoked worries of a global recession.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.5% at $1,311.15 per ounce at 0153 GMT, after touching its highest since March 28 at $1,311.44.
* The metal climbed above the key $1,316 level on Friday for the first time since April 11.
* U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,314.40 an ounce.
* U.S. stock futures, Asian share markets and oil prices slipped to multi-month lows on Monday amid the mounting trade worries.
* Tensions between the United States and China escalated during the weekend as the two countries clashed over trade, technology and security.
* A senior Chinese official and trade negotiator said on Sunday the United States cannot use pressure to force a trade deal on China, refusing to be drawn on whether the leaders of the two countries would meet at the G20 summit to work out an agreement later this month.
* Global equity funds have seen outflows of $10.3 billion in the past week as the U.S.-China trade conflict prompted investors to take shelter in government bonds.
* In a sign that Sino-U.S. frictions are putting a big strain on the global economy, South Korea’s exports – seen as a bellwether of world growth – fell 9.4 percent in May, worse than a median forecast for a 5.6 percent decline, official data showed on Saturday.
* The gloomy outlook has prompted traders to increase bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates sooner rather than later.
* Hedge funds and money managers increased their net long positions in COMEX gold in the week to May 28, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.32 percent to 743.21 tonnes on Friday from Thursday.
* The U.S. Mint sold 4,000 ounces of American Eagle gold coins in May, down 60 percent from the previous month, according to the latest data.
* Gold premiums in top consumer China rose last week as investors bought the metal as a safe-haven, while bullion demand moderated in India as local prices jumped to two-week highs. – Reuters