Expectations of a US tariff agreement with China continue to put pressure on the price of gold. On Monday, a troy ounce traded well below $4,000. Riskier investments, on the other hand, are becoming more popular.

The price of gold continued its losses of the past week, falling below $4,000 on the prospect of a de-escalation of the trade dispute between the US and China.

The price decline accelerated significantly in the afternoon, with one troy ounce (approximately 31.1 grams) trading at $3,988. This is about $124 less than on Friday. The price of gold had already fallen significantly last week, having last reached a record high of $4,381 on October 20.

Ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, both countries have moved closer to a settlement in the tariff and trade dispute and reached a preliminary agreement.

This has dampened demand for relatively safe investments, including gold. Riskier investments, such as those in the crypto market, are becoming more popular. Bitcoin’s price peaked at $116,272.

With the recent price declines, the gold price’s upward trend has ended for now. Despite the recent decline, the precious metal has risen by more than 50 per cent since the beginning of the year.

hasIn addition to the flight to safe havens in the wake of geopolitical risks and fears of the consequences of the US government’s aggressive tariff policy, speculation about falling interest rates and gold purchases by central banks has driven prices ever higher for months.

Similar to gold, silver prices continued to fall significantly at the start of the new trading week. The price was last traded at $46.24 per troy ounce, about five per cent lower than on Friday.

Silver has also seen a tremendous increase in recent months, with its value increasing by about 56 percent since the beginning of the year.