Gold is rediscovering its mojo as escalating concern about the U.S.-China trade standoff, losses in equities and concerns about slowing growth combine to spur haven demand, with the precious metal trading above $1,300 an ounce and building on the biggest weekly gain since January.

Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.5% to $1,311.65 an ounce, the highest since March 28, after adding 1.6% last week. With investors turning away from risk assets, bullion is set for fourth daily gain, the best run since March. Miners' shares rallied, with Newcrest Mining Ltd. surging in Sydney.

Gold is benefiting as the stand-off between Washington and Beijing escalates, hurting the outlook for growth, while the U.S. administration has also opened up a new front by threatening fresh levies against Mexico. Last week's price rise meant that bullion ended May with an increase after a run of three monthly losses. Morgan Stanley warned a recession could begin in less than a year if the trade conflict between the world's largest economies worsened.

Spot gold traded 0.4% higher at $1,310.66 an ounce at 9:49 a.m. in Singapore as silver, platinum and palladium also gained. In Sydney, stock in Newcrest, Australia’s biggest producer, spiked as much as 3.9% to the highest since 2012.

Source : Bloomberg