Gold held a drop as investors weighed a week of contrasting reports on the U.S.-China trade issue, with some optimism over an agreement between the two countries damping demand for haven assets.

China's chief trade negotiator Liu He indicated he was “cautiously optimistic” about reaching a phase one deal, and has invited his U.S. counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, to travel to Beijing for further talks this month. Washington will likely postpone new tariffs scheduled for December even if there's no deal by then, the South China Morning Post reported. However, President Donald Trump may soon sign into law a bill supporting Hong Kong's protesters, to which China has threatened retaliation.

Spot gold little changed at $1,465.25/oz at 8:48am in Singapore; -0.5% Thursday. Price -0.2% this week. Spot silver -0.1% to $17.0890/oz; heads for second weekly gain. Palladium +3.1% this week to snap 2 weeks of declines.

Source : Bloomberg