2018.10.1507:14:00UTC+00Gold Prices Rise Amid Falling Equities

Gold prices inched higher on Monday to hover near 12-week highs and the dollar took a beating as European and Asian equities continued to slide despite a rebound on Wall Street Friday.

Both spot gold and U.S. gold futures were up over 1 percent at $1,230.80 and $1,234.70 an ounce, respectively. Despite the uptrend, gold prices remain down by about 10 percent from their April peak.

U.S. stock futures indicate a lower start for Wall Street today as investors grapple with the specter of rising interest rates, the Italy/EU budget row, escalating trade tensions and Brexit uncertainty.

A growing feud between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of a prominent Saudi journalist also dented investors' appetite for riskier assets.

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of "severe punishment" if Saudi Arabia was behind the disappearance of its dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was reportedly killed inside the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh said it would retaliate if there were any sanctions by the U.S.

Relations between the kingdom and the U.S. have deteriorated rapidly after Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Riyadh and a U.S. resident, disappeared early this month after visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.