Gold inches up as dollar eases; surge in equities caps gains

Gold prices inched up on Monday as the dollar backed off three-week highs, but gains in the metal were limited as equities rose on signs of progress in the Sino-U.S. trade talks and upbeat Chinese economic data. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,293.15 per ounce by 0337 GMT, after touching its lowest since March 8 at $1,286.35 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures were down about 0.1 percent at $1,297.90 an ounce. The U.S. dollar slipped 0.1 percent against key rivals, after hitting its highest since March 11 on Friday, while Asian stocks rallied as positive Chinese factory data and signs of progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks supported sentiment. "The most extreme part of the global growth slowdown panic has subsided a little bit and the Chinese data is responsible for that, but it is a single data point which should be backed by more data," said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst with IG Markets in Melbourne.
"We are getting a lot of data from across the globe (this week) so the global growth story and the fears related to that will be tested in the very short term."