2019.08.2606:49:00UTC+00Gold Hits Fresh Six-year High

Gold prices hit a fresh six-year high on Monday, although prices came off their day's highs after the United States and China sought to ease trade war tensions.

Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,530.64 per ounce, after having earlier touched $1,555.23 an ounce, its highest since April 2013. U.S. gold futures were also up 0.2 percent at $1,541.30 an ounce.

Investors rushed for safe-haven assets such as gold, sovereign bonds and the Japanese yen following a whirlwind escalation of the U.S.-China trade war this weekend.

U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on about $550 billion worth of Chinese goods by 5 percent on Friday after the Chinese Finance Ministry announced plans to impose an extra 10 percent tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. imports.

The U.S.-China trade dispute seems to have entered a new phase, as Trump demanded FedEx, UPS, Amazon and the Postal Service to "immediately start looking for an alternative to China."

European markets steadied this morning and U.S. stock equity futures turned higher after China's Vice Premier Liu He, who has been leading the talks with Washington, said Beijing was willing to resolve the trade dispute through "calm" negotiations and resolutely opposed the escalation of the conflict.

"We are willing to resolve the issue through consultations and cooperation in a calm attitude and resolutely oppose the escalation of the trade war," Liu said, according to a government transcript.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit of major industrialized nations, Trump hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping as a great leader and said he welcomed his desire for a deal and for calm.

Trump said Chinese officials had contacted U.S. trade counterparts overnight and offered to return to the negotiating table.

"They want calm, and that's a great thing, frankly. And one of the reasons that he's a great leader, President Xi, and one of the reasons that China's a great country is they understand how life works," Trump said.