WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures ended notably higher on Monday as equities suffered another setback and the U.S. dollar turned weak after President Donald Trump launched yet another attack on the Federal Reserve's policy stance.
'The only problem our economy has is the Fed,' Trump tweeted. 'They don't have a feel for the Market, they don't understand necessary Trade Wars or Strong Dollars or even Democrat Shutdowns over Borders.'
The president added, 'The Fed is like a powerful golfer who can't score because he has no touch - he can't putt!'
The tweet comes on the heels of reports Trump has privately discussed firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell over the central bank's plan to gradually raise interest rates.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin disputed the reports in a post on Twitter on Saturday, claiming Trump told him he disagrees with the Fed's policy but never suggested firing Powell.
Concerns about slowing global economy and trade war jitters continued to weigh on stocks and the major U.S. indices plunged sharply, recording perhaps their biggest losses ever on Christmas Eve.
The dollar index declined by about 0.4%.
Gold futures for February ended up $13.70, or 1.1%, at $1,271.80 an ounce.
On Friday, gold futures settled lower by $9.80, or 0.8%, at $1,258.10 an ounce, after having ended at near six-month high a day earlier.
Silver futures for March ended up $0.12, or 1%, at $14.820 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $2.661 a pound, about 0.3% down from previous close.
Another significant factor that contributed to the yellow metal's uptick is a partial U.S. government shutdown over President Trump's demand for more funds for a wall on the border with Mexico.
The shutdown is expected to continue into January, when the new Congress convenes and Democrats take over the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro has reportedly said that the trade war between the U.S. and China would not come to an end in near term.
Steven Mnuchin's statement that he spoke with the chief executive officers of the six largest U.S. banks Sunday and that they confirmed about sufficient liquidity in the system raised concerns about liquidity instead of allaying doubts.
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