06.08.201814:19:00UTC+00Gold Settles Lower As Dollar Stays Firm Amid Trade War Jitters

Gold prices drifted lower on Monday, as the greenback held its gains against most major currencies.

Amid uncertainty about outlook for global economic growth due to U.S.-China trade war concerns, traders have turned to the dollar as a safe haven option, given the possibility of a couple of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this calendar year.

Meanwhile, reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist policy, Chinese state media unleashed a brutal and personal attack on him, saying Trump was "starring in his own carefully orchestrated street fighter-style deceitful drama" in which diplomacy had been reduced to a "trading game in which everything should follow the rule of America first".

Gold futures for December ended down $5.50, or 0.40%, at $1,217.70 an ounce.

Gold futures for December ended up up $3.10, or nearly 0.2%, at $1,223.20 an ounce on Friday, but shed about 0.8% last week, recording losses for the fourth successive week.

Silver futures for September declined $0.117, or 0.76%, to $15.345 an ounce.

Copper futures for September declined $0.038, or 1.39%, at 2.725 per pound.

The dollar index was up 0.19, or 0.20%, at 95.22.