21.10.201918:19:00UTC+00Gold Settles Lower As Riskier Assets Advance On Trade Deal Hopes

Gold prices edged lower on Monday as investors looked to pick up riskier assets amid renewed optimism the U.S. and China will sign the first phase of trade deal by the middle of November.

A somewhat subdued dollar, lingering concerns over geopolitical tensions and uncertainty about Brexit limited the yellow metal's losses.

The dollar index, which dropped to 97.16 in early trades Monday, recovered to 97.40 around noon, but pared some gains subsequently and eased to 97.31.

Gold futures for December ended down $6.00, or about 0.4%, at $1,488.10 an ounce.

On Friday, gold futures for December ended down $4.20, or 0.3%, at $1,494.10 an ounce.

Silver futures for December closed higher by $0.024 at $17.602 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $2.6465 per pound, gaining $0.0105.

In trade news, U.S. President Donald Trump said he thought a U.S.-Sino trade deal would be signed by the time the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings take place in Chile on Nov. 16 and 17.

Separately, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said that China would work with the United States to address each other's core concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

On the Brexit front, the recent euphoria over a deal worked out by the U.K. and EU negotiators has now subsided following a cross-party group of politicians voting to postpone the "meaningful vote" on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit deal.