Investing.com - Gold prices edged up on Friday in Asia as the safe-haven asset was supported by worries over economic growth and renewed China-U.S. tensions.

Gold futures for February delivery edged up 0.13% to $1,282.95 at 1:49 AM ET (06:49 GMT) on the Comex exchange.

The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies slipped 0.1% to 95.917.

Citing three sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that U.S. President Trump is considering banning U.S. companies from using equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE (HK:0763). The news came one day after Bloomberg reported that China and U.S. are set for a new round of trade talks in early January.

Meanwhile, a measure of U.S. consumer confidence posted its sharpest decline in more than three years in December, as investors remain concerned that a global economic slowdown was spilling over into the United States.

On Thursday, official data showed China’s industrial profits fell for the first time since December 2015.

The decline was due to slowing growth in sales and producer prices, and rising costs, He ping of the statistics bureau said in a statement accompanying the data, while analysts noted rising trade tensions with the United States also piled pressure on China’s economic growth.

Related Articles

Trump says U.S. doing well in various trade negotiations

No-deal Brexit would hit Britain's farmers, food firms hard: Gove

Oil prices rebound, helped by weak dollar, Saudi supply cuts