Gold prices gain amid simmering U.S.-China trade tensions

Gold prices rose early Tuesday in Asia, taking back lost ground from the previous session.

Gold futures gained 0.27% to $1,739.35 per ounce at 12:43 AM ET (5:43 AM GMT). Stocks, which often move in the opposite direction, also rallied on the same day.

Investors flocked to the yellow metal amid rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China, where the NASDAQ stock exchange are set to implement new restrictions on Chinese IPOs.

U.S. officials have also been focusing on enticing American companies to move operations and key suppliers out of China with proposals of tax breaks, new regulations, and subsidies.

Investors’ risk sentiment also increased after U.S.-based biotech company Moderna reported promising results on Monday from its first phase of trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna showed that all its 45 participants had developed antibodies to the virus after two doses.

Gold has risen by nearly 14% this year, as central banks pledged massive waves of financial stimuli and rate cuts in order to put a floor under a plunging economy due to the pandemic.