Gold Prices Flat; Copper Prices Surge to 3-year High on Bullish Chinese Data

Investing.com – Gold prices held above $1300 on Monday shrugging off an uptick in the dollar and treasury yields as safe-haven demand remained steady amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and concerns over the pace of U.S. interest rate hikes.

for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.61, or 0.12%, to $1,302.83 a troy ounce.

On the heels of snapping a four-week losing streak, gold prices made a subdued start to the week trading in a narrow $6 range amid a lack of top-tier economic data release.

Ongoing tensions over , however, limited downside momentum in the precious metal while concerns over the pace of interest rate hikes beyond the widely expected year-end December rate hike strengthened sentiment on gold prices.

Gold prices rose more than 2% last week after a data showed inflation missed expectations, lessening the Federal Reserve’s case to adopt an aggressive tightening stance on monetary policy.

Fed chair Janet Yellen on Sunday, however, reaffirmed the Federal Reserve’s commitment to raising rates.

“The U.S economy remains strong and the strength of the labor market calls for continued gradual increases in interest rates,” Yellen said.

Gold is sensitive to moves higher in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.

In other metals trading, fell 0.30% to $17.36 while fell 1.02% to $938.20.

, fell by 1.87% to $2.94, while hit a three-year high rising to $3.24, up 3.33%, after data showed . China is the largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 45% of the global demand.

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