Gold
prices rose slightly during Friday's trading session, but the precious metal
was headed for its worst monthly performance in 3 years.
The
gold took some advantage of the renewed trade uncertainty between the world's
two largest economies due to conflict over Hong Kong protests.
As
of 08:20 GMT, spot gold hovered around
$1,457 an ounce, where the precious metal hit the highest level today at $1,459.
The lowest level this week was hit at $1450, the
lowest since November 11, noting that the yellow metal is on course for its worst
monthly performance in three years.
The
precious metal is heading for a loss of about 4 percent in November, which
would be the biggest loss since November 2016.
However,
gold, which mainly rallies during times of economic or political uncertainty
has gained, so far, more than 13 percent in 2019, largely due to the elevating US-China
trade war.
Gold
benefited from the signing of two bills by the United States to protect
protesters in Hong Kong have angered China by considering intervention in its own
internal affairs.
The
U.S President Donald Trump said in a statement issued by the White House on
Wednesday that he signed the bills out of respect for Chinese President Xi
Jinping and the people of Hong Kong.
The
Senate passed a version of the bill earlier this month and the House of
Representatives approved another version in October.
This
monthly performance is due to the fact that hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal
boosted demand for risky assets and the dollar at the expense of gold.
Meanwhile, the main
dollar index, which monitors the performance of the U.S dollar against six
other major currencies, surged 0.01 percent at 98.29.