Gold lowers

Bengaluru : Gold slid to a near five-month low on Monday, as the dollar rose and demand for safe-haven assets eased after United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a trade war between China and the United States was "on hold".

Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,283.30 per ounce at 0658 GMT, after earlier hitting $1,281.76, its lowest since Dec. 27.

"Gold price is under pressure as the dollar maintains its strength," said Naeem Aslam, chief markets analyst at Think Markets."´On Hold´ is a risk-on term. The absence of trade tariffs and hostile tone between the two countries has also impacted the gold price more adversely," Aslam said. The dollar rose versus the yen and hit a five month-high against a basket of currencies, after Mnuchin´s comments downplaying a trade dispute with China, boosting risk sentiment amid hopes for an easing of trade tensions between the world´s two biggest economies.