Gold near 3-week high on U.S. fiscal woes

Spot gold was up 0.8% at $1,980.46 per ounce by 3:25 p.m. EDT, near a one-week high.

The European Commission Executive Vice President said on Thursday she is optimistic that the trade agreement can soon be reached.

Mining companies have to run just to stand still, but expansion capex in the global mining sector as a percentage of profits has halved in a decade.

The LME plans to work with China's Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME) to launch trading in lower nickel grades.