Bullion prices ended higher at Comex on Monday, 17 September 2018. Gold futures settled higher on Monday, recouping some of their losses from late last week, as investors questioned the dollar rally's near-term durability, offering a demand boost for the dollar-priced precious metal.

December gold rose $4.70, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,205.80 an ounce. Gold logged a narrow win for last week, but posted declines over the past two sessions in a row.

December silver rose 8.1 cents, or 0.6%, to $14.223 an ounce. The metal lost 0.2% for last week.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, a gauge of the buck against a half-dozen currencies, fell 0.5% to 94.487 in Monday trade.

Gold also gained as U.S. stocks traded lower, weighed down after a streak of gains as U.S.-China trade worries bubbled up anew. On Friday, there were reports that President Trump had instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products. China, over the weekend, said it may decline the offer for renewed trade talks if the U.S. was moving ahead with tariffs.

Reviewing Monday's economic data, which was limited to the September Empire State Manufacturing Index, the Empire Manufacturing Survey for September declined to 19.0 (consensus 23.0) from the prior month's unrevised reading of 25.6.