By Ranjeetha Pakiam and Elena MaznevaBloomberg  Dec. 31, 2019 3:46 PM

Gold climbed to a three-month high to clinch its best annual performance since 2010, as a weaker dollar helped cap a year marked by global economic jitters and trade frictions.

Bullion gained 19% this year as central banks globally embraced looser monetary policy to boost growth. Brexit, unrest in regions from Chile to Hong Kong and buying sprees from key central banks and exchange-traded funds have also helped support prices.

Spot gold climbed as much as 0.7% to $1,525.38 an ounce on Tuesday, the highest since Sept. 25. It traded at $1,520.13 at 1:40 p.m. in New York. Gold futures for February delivery rose 0.3% to settle at $1,523.10 on the Comex.

The metal managed to hold on to gains even after President Trump said he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on Jan. 15, easing uncertainty that has fueled haven demand for bullion.

“It is not really a surprise” especially after headlines yesterday that China’s Vice-Premier Liu He is coming to Washington to sign the so-called phase-one trade deal, said Tai Wong, the head of metals derivatives trading at BMO Capital Markets.

Some analysts doubt that gold’s strength will stick next year. JPMorgan Asset Management cautioned that bullion may not offer sound portfolio protection.

“There are very few certain environments in which gold does well, and it’s not necessarily the case that 2020 won’t be any of those,” Hannah Anderson, a global market strategist at JPMorgan, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “In the next downturn, I do believe that bonds still could be defensive assets.”

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