Investing.com - Gold prices fell on Thursday in Asia as investors’ appetite for risk assets improved following more positive news on the trade front.
In futures trading, gold's benchmark April contract on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 0.3% at $1,311.05 per ounce by 1:45 AM ET (06:45 GMT).
Gold prices fell as traders awaited the outcome of trade negotiations in China led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vice Premier Liu He are scheduled to meet a U.S. delegation that includes Lighthizer and Mnuchin in Beijing on Thursday and Friday.
On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering extending the March 1 deadline for a tariff increase by 60 days.
Separately, Trump told reporters on Wednesday that trade talks are making good progress. “I think it’s going along very well,” said Trump. “They’re showing us tremendous respect.”
In recent days, both the greenback and the precious metal have seen choppy moves as investors reacted to Trump's decision at first to forego a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, then express his continued desire to strike a deal with China.
The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies was trading near flat at 96.917.