Gold slips from over three-week high on U.S.-China trade deal prospects

Gold prices slipped after climbing to a more than three week peak on Wednesday as safe haven demand eased after the White House said it had received an indication from China that it wanted to make a trade deal, easing fears over the dispute`s potential impact on global growth. Trade delegations from Washington and Beijing are scheduled to begin their latest round of talks on Thursday.

"We got an indication they want to make a deal," Sanders told reporters. "Our teams are in continued negotiations. They`re going to sit down tomorrow. We`ll see what happens from there."  Spot gold was 0.1 percent lower at $1,282.48 per ounce at 11:20 am EDT (1519 GMT), while U.S. gold futures also dipped 0.1 percent to $1,283.9 

"As the news comes in that the trade talks are back on, some of the haven seekers are exiting. We are continuing to look for headlines," said George Gero, managing director at RBC Wealth Management. U.S. stocks edged higher on Wednesday, ahead of the talks that will be held a day before the United States will raise tariffs to 25% from 10% on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. [.N]

Earlier, gold prices climbed to their highest since April 15 at $1,291.39 per ounce on concerns over the trade dispute`s potential impact on global growth.  Lower treasury yields and higher physical demand from India in a festive season also drove prices up earlier in the day, according to Suki Cooper, precious metals analyst at Standard Chartered Bank.

Indians are expected to buy at least 10 percent more gold during the annual Hindu and Jain holy festival of Akshaya Tritiya than a year ago, supporting physical demand in Asia. Spot gold may test resistance at $1,291 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain to next resistance at $1,299, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Silver slipped 0.3 percent $14.87 per ounce, while platinum was steady at $868.05.  Palladium was down 0.6 percent at $1,320.06 an ounce, having touched a one week low of $1,313 earlier in the session.