Gold prices firmed on Wednesday, slightly recovering from a 2% decline in the previous session, as doubts about a breakthrough in the U.S.-China trade deal buoyed demand for the safe-haven metal.
Spot gold rose 0.53% to $1,491.8 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were up 0.65% at $1,493.4.
In the previous session, bullion touched a three-week low of $1,479.25 and registered its biggest one-day percentage drop since late September at 1.7%.
Investors now await new developments on the talks after reports that China is pushing U.S. President Donald Trump to remove more tariffs imposed in September as part of a "phase one" trade deal.
"The fact that China is stepping up and saying, before we sign anything we are looking for rollbacks in tariffs, which brings into question whether the previous statement that a phase one deal could be signed in November has any validity," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
"If China is going to be unwilling to sign anything without rollbacks, that once again brings what could be a bone of contention to the potential for signing the 'phase one' deal."
Global equities steadied on Wednesday, a day after the Nasdaq and Dow Jones industrial average hit new record peaks, as traders continued to watch incoming economic data and awaited new developments from trade talks.
There is a slight shift into risk-off assets, such as gold, as industrial productivity in the U.S. surprisingly fell, while the dollar index has weakened as well, supporting the bullion, said Phillip Streible, senior commodities strategist at RJO Futures.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday nonfarm productivity fell at a 0.3% annualized rate between July and September, the biggest decline in almost four years. Analysts had expected productivity growth of 0.9% during the quarter.
Further buoying demand for bullion, the dollar index slipped against key rivals, backing away from a near three-week high touched in the previous session.
"If we see a U.S.-China trade agreement, most likely there would be a knee jerk reaction in the gold market, which would selloff," Streible said, adding prices would eventually recover as it might be difficult to get a complete overhaul of the trade deal.
The trade war is one of the key reasons for gold, a safe-haven asset during times of economic and political uncertainty, to have jumped over 15% so far this year.
In other precious metals, silver fell 0.1% to $17.57 per ounce, having touched its lowest since Oct. 17 earlier.
Platinum was down 0.2% at $927.21 per ounce. The metal hit a one-week low of $917. Palladium gained 1% to $1,795.19.