Platinum prices shed nearly 1% during the Asian session on Friday, to continue bouncing off the highest since Nov.7 for the second straight session, but still heading for the second weekly gain, while the US dollar rebounded from its lowest since Nov.5, ahead of the release of several US economic data later today.  

Platinum prices fell by 0.73% to $908.73 an ounce as of 05:07 GMT, after opening at $915.41, while the US dollar index rose by 0.02% to 97.95 after it opened at 97.93. 

Investors are anticipating the release of the US manufacturing and services PMI readings, with forecasts for the preliminary reading of the manufacturing PMI to show expansion to 51.5 vs. 51.3 in October, and the services PMI is expected to expand to 51.2 vs. 50.6 in October.

This coupled with the release of University of Michigan's consumer confidence reading, with forecasts for an expansion to 95.8 from 95.7 in the preliminary reading and 95.5 in October, this comes after the Federal Reserve revealed the minutes of its recent meeting at October 29-30, which saw the third interest rate cut this year, by 25 basis points to between 1.50% and 1.75%.

Otherwise, news reports showed yesterday that the Trump administration will conduct a trade investigation to justify tariffs on EU products that may lead to new tariffs on EU cars, keeping in mind that several news agencies reported that president Trump may delay the tariffs on European cars ahead of the deadline.

Platinum is one of the most rare metals on Earth (30 times more rare than gold), which is mainly used in catalytic converters that reduces toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from cars. Platinum ended its longest daily gains streak since the beginning of 2018, in its first drop in 7 sessions which reflects its bounce from a 3-month low as markets parse the impact of the recent developments on the odds of resolving the US-China trade war.

The South China Morning Post on Thursday reported that the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He invited the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to continue the trade talks this month in Beijing, and reported that the US is going to hold Chinese tariffs scheduled in mid-December even if no agreement is reached.

Gold futures tilted higher during the Asian session on Friday, shrugging off the US dollar's rebound from its lowest since November 5 for the fifth straight session, despite the inverse relation between them, ahead of the release of several US economic data later today, amid the recent developments in the trade war, which passed its first year already. 

Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.05% to $1,465.10 an ounce as of 04:13 GMT, after opening at $1,464.30, the futures gaped higher after closing yesterday at $1,463.60, while the US dollar index rose by 0.02% to 97.95 after it opened at 97.93. 

Investors are anticipating the release of the US manufacturing and services PMI readings, with forecasts for the preliminary reading of the manufacturing PMI to show expansion to 51.5 vs. 51.3 in October, and the services PMI is expected to expand to 51.2 vs. 50.6 in October.

This coupled with the release of University of Michigan's consumer confidence reading, with forecasts for an expansion to 95.8 from 95.7 in the preliminary reading and 95.5 in October, this comes after the Federal Reserve revealed the minutes of its recent meeting at October 29-30, which saw the third interest rate cut this year, by 25 basis points to between 1.50% and 1.75%.

The South China Morning Post on Thursday reported that the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He invited the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to continue the trade talks this month in Beijing, and reported that the US is going to hold Chinese tariffs scheduled in mid-December even if no agreement is reached.

Whilst, President Donald Trump is expected to sign the Hong Kong Human Rights Act that was passed by the US Senate on Wednesday, in addition to a bill to support Hong Kong's pro-Democracy protesters that will be put for a vote in the House of Representatives. While Beijing condemned the bill and criticized the Washington interference, to diminish the hopes for resolving the trade dispute between the two countries.

Asian stock indices opened mixed on Friday, as the Chinese stocks were mixed and the Japanese, Australian stock indices rose, in addition to Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and the South Korean Kospi, while New Zealand stocks fell, as the market parse the latest developments in the US-China trade file. 

The South China Morning Post on Thursday reported that the Chinese Vice Premier Liu He invited the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to continue the trade talks this month in Beijing, and reported that the US is going to hold Chinese tariffs scheduled in mid-December even if no agreement is reached.

Whilst, President Donald Trump is expected to sign the Hong Kong Human Rights Act that was passed by the US Senate on Wednesday, in addition to a bill to support Hong Kong's pro-Democracy protesters that will be put for a vote in the House of Representatives. While Beijing condemned the bill and criticized the Washington interference, to diminish the hopes for resolving the trade dispute between the two countries.

As for stocks, Japanese stocks traded higher during today's trading session, with the Topix index rising by 0.50% or 8.38 points to 1,697.76, and Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.61% or 141.60 points to 23,180.18.

While the Chinese stocks were mixed, as the CSI 300 index fell by 0.17% or 6.65 points to 3,882.95, and the Shanghai Composite index rose by 0.04% or 1.26 points to 2,904.90.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 0.23% or 61.59 points to 26,528.47, and the South Korean Kospi rose 0.20% or 4.12 points to 2,100.72.

To Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose 0.57 % or 37.79 points to 6,710.70, while New Zealand's NZX 50 fell by 0.20% or 22.14 points to 10,936.02.

Corn futures rose on Thursday, and closed higher on the Chicago commodity exchange (CBOT), buoyed by signs of improved US domestic demand and exports.

This came despite the lingering uncertainty around the US-China trade talks and the mounting doubts about the two countries' ability to agree on the first phase of the trade deal.

President Donald Trump has threatened to increase the Chinese tariffs, if China failed to reach the first phase of the trade deal, and stated that Beijing didn't offer enough concessions to satisfy his administration.

Whilst, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokespersons stated that China is willing to work with the United States to resolve each other’s core concerns.

The US Department of Agriculture revealed that corn exports rose by 49% to 788K tonnes last week, and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that US biofuels refineries demand on corn increased for the eighth straight week.

Corn December futures rose by 0.5% to $3.68 per bushel, and hit an intraday high of $3.69 and a low of $3.66.