Gold holds steady after recovery from recent lows

Bengaluru — Gold prices steadied on Wednesday, after recovering from a more than five-week low in the previous session, lifted by a pause in global equities rally, while a firm dollar curbed further gains.

Spot gold was steady at $1,287.25/oz, as of 4.18am GMT, after slipping to $1,280.70 in the previous session, its lowest since January 25.

US gold futures were up about 0.3% at $1,287.90/oz.

Asian stocks clung to tight ranges as investors awaited fresh directional cues from US-China trade negotiations and a weaker Wall Street finish capped broader gains, while robust U.S. economic data supported the dollar.

“Gold is firming after the sharp fall as competing influences of the interest bearing assets are reversing. Bond yields have started to weaken gently, and while the dollar is going up, equities are seeing headwinds,” said Benjamin Lu, an analyst with Singapore-based Phillip Futures.

“Gold in longer term is very much supported, partially due to shift in sentiments and global slowdown. In the shorter term, gold continues to show signs of bearish weakness and there is some room to go further south before it resumes its positive trend.”

The dollar index held near a two-week high hit in the previous session.

Markets were a bit cautious on the China-US trade and are awaiting further indications of developments in talks between the two major economies after a tit-for-tat tariff war, analysts said.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said President Donald Trump will reject any trade deal that is not perfect but that they will still keep working on an agreement rekindling concerns in the market.

While a series of robust data from the US has strengthened the dollar, the US Federal Reserve’s patience on policy is nowhere close to running out.

Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston signalled on Tuesday he could wait until at least June before touching interest rates again.

Markets will now look ahead to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) monetary policy meeting on Thursday and US nonfarm payrolls data on Friday.

“Gold looks to build a base around $1,280- $1,285 level, however, it continues to see downwards pressure from outflows in exchange traded funds and a firmer dollar,” MKS PAMP Group said in a note.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF), dropped 2.7% so far in 2019.

Among the other precious metals, spot silver lost 0.2% to $15.08/oz, after slipping to its lowest since December 27 in the previous session.

Palladium slipped 0.6% to $1,506.45/oz, while platinum dipped 0.8% to $830.16/oz.

Reuters