Gold clings near five-month highs as dollar inches up

Gold futures tilted lower in American trade off July 13 highs as the dollar index rose from November 22 lows for another session, while the US market shuts down for the official holiday announced by President Donald Trump in honor of late President George H.W. Bush. 

As of 05:41 GMT, gold futures due in February fell 0.23% to $1,243.70 an ounce off five-month highs, while the dollar index inched up 0.03% to 96.99 from two-week lows. 

US President Donald Trump tweeted today : "Very strong signals being sent by China once they returned home from their long trip, including stops, from Argentina. Not to sound naive or anything, but I believe President Xi meant every word of what he said at our long and hopefully historic meeting. ALL subjects discussed!"

President Xi Jinping on his side asserted China's mutual respect for other countries and its aim to bolster peace and stability against the current challenges facing the world, with the Chinese trade minister describing the trade meeting with the US as highly successful. 

On Sunday, the White House released a statement of the dinner attended by world leaders at the G20 Summit, with both President Donald Trump and Xiu Jinping discussing the trade dispute between the two countries. 

The statement noted that Trump agreed to hold off raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese product by January 2019, as US and Chinese officials will continue to negotiate the hanging trade issues in the next 90 days. 

A scheduled Congress testimony by Fed Chair Jerome Powell today on Wednesday was delayed after President Donald Trump declared the day an official holiday in honor of late President George H.W Bush. 

Later this week, Powell will speak about the economy and rural America at the Housing Assistance Council's annual event, in Washington DC, while the payrolls report is expected to show no change in the unemployment rate at 3.7%. 

Finally, Gold holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed investment fund, steadied on Tuesday at 761.74 tonnes, after marking the second monthly profit in a row last month.