Gold prices rose Thursday, approaching a five-month high supported by a weaker dollar and expectations of slower US interest rates as well as a decline in stocks that boosted the yellow metal.
At 1848 GMT, the spot price of gold rose 0.2 percent to $ 1239.44 an ounce, having earlier touched its highest level since July 17 at $ 1244.32 an ounce.
US gold futures were up 0.1 percent to settle at $ 1243.60 an ounce, and the dollar fell about 0.4 percent as US Treasury yields fell.
Global equity markets fell for the third consecutive session on Thursday, with a senior executive of the technology giant Huawei being arrested in Canada for deportation to the United States, raising fears of heightened trade tensions.
Federal Reserve policy makers meet on December 18 and 19, where they are widely expected to raise interest rates, but the focus of the market is on the number of increases in 2019.
Traders are turning to the Non-Farm Payrolls report released on Friday.
At the same time, palladium fell after the yellow metal overtook for the first time since 2002 on Wednesday.
Palladium fell 3.3 percent to $ 1202.05 an ounce, after climbing to an all-time high of $ 1263.56 an ounce in the previous session.
Silver fell 0.6 percent to $ 14.42 an ounce, while platinum continued its losses for a third straight session, dropping 1.5 percent to $ 788.30 an ounce.
Earlier, platinum fell to a three-month low of $ 779.50 an ounce.
