Gold was down a couple of dollars to US$1,323 an ounce earlier, while palladium was worth $1,306/oz on the spot market, as macro uncertainties continue.

In London, SolGold (LSE: SOLG) has recovered about half the value shed last week, having tumbled on local media reporting Ecuador was moving towards holding a referendum on mining in some areas.

SolGold has said there was no indication its tenure was at risk. It said a public hearing was being held tomorrow where a court would receive arguments from the originator and counter-arguments, to determine whether the question regarding the future of mining was valid and constitutionally legal.

Its shares fell from about 34p to 25.50p last week and closed yesterday at 29.65p.

The gold-heavy metals and mining sector in Toronto closed up 3.48% overall yesterday.

SEMAFO (TSX: SMF) soared on more than 13% on standout drilling results from Bantou Nord in Burkina Faso and Eldorado Gold (TSX: ELD) rose almost 12%.

Meanwhile there were no fresh barbs in the US-China trade war, with US president Donald Trump meeting Queen Elizabeth II in the UK and China's president Xi Jinping reportedly off to Russia tomorrow for a two-day visit.

US market futures were upbeat and European futures were lower.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was up in afternoon trade as the Reserve Bank cut interest rates to an historic low of 1.25%, "to support employment growth and provide greater confidence that inflation will be consistent with the medium-term target".

Australian metals and mining stocks were up about 1% at the time of writing, with BHP (ASX: BHP) up 1.5%.