Gold climbed and silver hit a 10-month high as investors weighed virus developments and fresh U.S.-China tensions against an advance in equities on Monday.

Global stocks rose ahead of earnings season, shrugging off new coronavirus outbreaks in some parts of the world, with Florida on Sunday posting the biggest one-day rise in cases since the pandemic began in the U.S.

Spot gold added 0.6% to $1,808.73/oz at 11:22am in London. Spot silver rose as much as 2.4% to $19.1765/oz, the highest since September. Platinum and palladium also advanced. Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.

China sanctioned American officials in a retaliation over legislation intended to punish Beijing for its treatment of ethnic minorities. President Donald Trump said on Friday a phase two trade deal with China isn’t under consideration as the relationship between the countries has deteriorated too much.

Source : Bloomberg