2020.11.1618:00:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Slightly Higher

Gold prices rebounded after early weakness on Monday as the dollar turned subdued after risk sentiment improved on strong economic data from China and positive updates on Covid-19 vaccine.

The dollar exhibited weakness against its major rivals as Asia-Pacific nations including China, Japan and South Korea on Sunday signed the world's largest regional free-trade agreement after eight years of negotiations.

The dollar index, which dropped to 92.46 in the Asian session, rallied to 92.84 later in the morning before edging lower again. It was last seen hovering around 92.65, down more than 0.1% from previous close.

The yellow metal also benefited from hopes of more stimulus in the wake of mounting coronavirus cases in many parts of the world.

However, rising optimism about a coronavirus vaccine after Moderna announced that the phase 3 trial of its Covid-19 vaccine has proved 94.5% effective in treating the virus, resulted in improved risk sentiment and firmer stock markets, limiting gold's gains.

Gold futures for December slid to $1,886.20 this morning, but rose to around $1,894 by noon, before paring some gains and settling at $1,88780 an ounce, up $1.60 or about 0.08% from previous close.

Silver futures for December ended up $0.027 at $24.802 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled with a gain of $0.0440 at $3.2220 per pound.

On the economic front, China's factory output rose faster than expected in October and retail sales accelerated from the previous month.

Elsewhere, Japan's economy grew at the fastest pace on record in the third quarter, rebounding sharply from its biggest postwar slump.