2020.08.1019:19:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Modestly Higher

Gold prices rose on Monday on safe-haven demand amid an escalation in U.S.-China tensions, and on continued worries about rising coronavirus cases and global economic outlook.

On the stimulus front, U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Saturday partly restoring enhanced unemployment payments to the tens of millions of Americans who lost jobs in the pandemic.

The dollar recovered fairly well after falling from higher levels, and this limited gold's uptick a bit.

The dollar index, which dropped to 93.30 after hitting a high of 93.70, recovered to 93.60 later on, netting a gain of about 0.16%.

Gold futures for December ended up $11.70 or about 0.6% at $2,039.70 an ounce.

Silver futures for September ended up $1.720 or about 6.3% at $29.261 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled at $2.8615 per pound, gaining $0.0690 or 2.5%.

The U.S. surpassed 5 million confirmed Covid-19 cases on Sunday, meaning it accounts for a quarter of the global tally of 20 million. The global death toll rose to over 729,500.

Investors keep a close eye on Sino-U.S. relations amid concerns that their trade deal could be at jeopardy.

Amid mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing, U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar offered President Donald Trump's strong support for democratic Taiwan.

China said it will impose sanctions on 11 U.S. citizens in response to similar measures from Washington on Chinese and Hong Kong officials.

In economic news, signs of improvement in China's industrial activity added to signs of economic recovery in the world's second-largest economy.