LONDON: Gold was up on Monday morning in Asia on the back of heightened U.S.-China tensions over the weekend.
Gold futures gained 0.47% to $1,708.90 by 12:15 PM ET (5:15 AM GMT) as U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday raising tariffs on China is “certainly an option” as he accused China of mishandling the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also jumped into the fray, saying overnight that there was “a significant amount of evidence” that the COVID-19 virus originated in a Chinese laboratory but did not elaborate on what the evidence was.The heightened tensions saw stocks, which usually move in the opposite direction of the yellow metal, record losses.
Meanwhile, U.S. Federal Reserve officials warned of potentially lasting scars to the workforce and productivity if the recovery is not handled well before lockdown measures are loosened in some parts of the country in the coming days.
The Fed has rolled out trillions of dollars in support for the U.S. economy.
Gold up amid souring investor risk over increased US-China tensions
