Investing.com - Gold drew some safe-haven demand on Thursday in Asia after Chile announced it had canceled a November meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation council, where a partial trade deal between China and the U.S. was expected to be signed.
Chile also extended a state of emergency to several cities across the country as it grappled with nationwide protests sparked by a proposed hike in public transport fares.
Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2% to 1,499.95 by 1:33 AM ET (05:33 GMT).
Limiting the gains of the yellow metal were reports that Washington still planned to sign the deal with China in November despite the cancellation of the summit.
China's cabinet adviser Zhu Guangyao told Reuters on the sidelines of a forum in Singapore on China-U.S. relations that he is still optimistic that a deal can be signed next month.
"Based on (the principles of) mutual trust and mutual benefits, I believe both countries can achieve great success," said Zhu, who was directly involved in the bilateral trade talks as a vice finance minister until his retirement in 2018.
In other news, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday, in what was a widely expected decision.
The central bank hinted that it may pause its future rate hike plans, as it removed a key clause in the post-meeting statement that said the Fed was committed to “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion.”
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a news conference that central bank officials “see the current stance of monetary policy as likely to remain appropriate.”