Gold Prices Decline On Progress In Brexit, US-China Trade Talks

Reflecting the trend in the global markets, gold and silver prices in India declined at the end of the week. Gold futures on MCX closed the week Rs 314 or 0.82 percent lower at Rs 37,845 per 10 grams of 22 carats. Silver futures also ended with losses, seeing a 0.55 percent or Rs 250 fall to Rs 45,171 per kg.

In the international market, spot gold saw its second-biggest weekly loss of the year. It fell by 0.7 percent to $1,483.59 per ounce, while US gold futures slipped 0.9 percent to settle at $1,488.20.

The yellow metal's appeal decreased as concerns over Brexit and US-China trade dispute eased.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said that the two largest economies in the world had come up with a substantial "phase one" deal on intellectual property, financial services and big agricultural purchases.

Trade talks were held between the two countries on Thursday and Friday. Chinese Vice Premier Liu said substantial progress was made in the talks and they would continue to make efforts.

Trump suspended tariff hike on Chinese goods worth $250 billion that were set to kick in on 15 October while China agreed to step up farm purchases.

The improvement from talks lifted investor and market sentiments, as traders moved away from the non-yielding bullion to riskier assets.

The spread between three-month and 10-year US Treasury yields widened the most since 6 May moving into positive territory.

In the UK, where the deadline for the Brexit is scheduled to be 31 October, the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, after what he called a "very positive" meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said that the UK will leave the European Union in an orderly fashion by the end of the month.

Reports suggest that there has been progress in the exit deal and that there won't be a "hard Brexit". This has lifted the spirits of the European market, making the safe-haven metal less attractive.