24.05.201906:50:00UTC+00Gold Edges Lower After Rally

Gold prices drifted lower on Friday after rising sharply in the previous session on expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve this year.

Spot gold dipped 0.3 percent to $1,281.25 per ounce, after climbing more than 1 percent on Thursday to hit a one-week high. U.S. gold futures for June were down 0.4 percent at $1,280.85.

The dollar edged away from two-year highs after overnight data showed U.S. manufacturing activity hit its lowest level in almost a decade in May, amid escalating trade tensions with Beijing.

New home sales in the U.S. also declined in April, suggesting a sharp slowdown in economic growth was underway.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington's complaints against Huawei Technologies might be resolved within the framework of a U.S.-China trade deal.

At the same time, he called the Chinese telecommunications giant "very dangerous."

"You look at what they've done from a security standpoint, a military standpoint. Very dangerous," Trump told reporters at the White House.