Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange continued to rise on Monday as the U.S. dollar weakened and the market remained cautious amid trade tensions.

The most active gold contract for June delivery went up 4 dollars, or 0.30 percent, to settle at 1340.10 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of other major currencies, dropped 0.30 percent to 89.88 as of 1629 GMT.

Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes down, gold futures will rise as gold, priced in U.S. dollar, becomes less expensive for investors using other currencies.

As President Donald Trump and high-ranking U.S. officials played down the trade tensions with China, saying the dispute still can be resolved through talks, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman responded on Monday that Washington was "wielding the big stick of trade sanctions while keeping saying they are willing to talk."

Chinese officials maintained that under the current circumstances, it is even more impossible for the two sides to do so.

The uncertainty of how to solve the trade dispute between the two major economies led to demand for safe-haven assets such as the yellow metal.

The rise of gold, however, was curbed by the rally of equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 322.82 points, or 1.35 percent as of 1640 GMT, powered by rebounding financial stocks.

As for other precious metals, silver for May delivery went up 16.7 cents, or 1.02 percent, to settle at 16.529 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July rose 21.90 dollars, or 2.39 percent, to close at 939.40 dollars per ounce.