Gold Prices Ease On US-China Trade Optimism

On Friday, gold prices edged lower as hopes of an interim trade deal between the US and China getting closer to completion raised the appetite for riskier assets among investors.

Gold futures on MCX were trading lower than its previous close, falling to an intraday low of Rs 37,995 per 10 grams. In the international market, spot gold fell by 0.1 percent to $1,478 an ounce and US gold futures were down by 0.2 percent to $1,482 per ounce.

On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that Washington and Beijing would be signing the "Phase one" trade pact at the beginning of January, adding that it would not be subject to any renegotiation.

China's Finance Ministry unveiled a new list of import tariff exemptions for a duration of one year starting 26 December for six chemical and oil products from the US.

Further, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on Thursday, unveiled what he called a radical government agenda, setting his sights on a quick Brexit.

Stocks markets across Asia were trading higher as they absorbed the positive trade updates.

In India, BSE's Sensex rose by 0.3 percent to 41,809 while NSE's Nifty 50 jumped 0.28 percent to 12,293.90, their new record highs.