Gold edges higher on political, trade uncertainty

Wednesday,   14-Aug-2019   08:58 AM (IST)

Gold prices inched up on Wednesday as markets eyed ongoing political and trade turbulence, even as a U.S. decision to delay tariffs on some Chinese goods boosted risk appetite. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,502.03 per ounce at 0047 GMT. Gold fell as much as 2% in the previous session, before recovering to close at a loss of 0.7%. U.S. gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,513.10 an ounce. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump backed off his Sept. 1 deadline for 10% tariffs on some Chinese imports, boosting equity markets. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, versus a basket of six major currencies advanced 0.4% on Tuesday. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed 6 basis points overnight, pushing away from a three-year low touched a week ago. Protests in Hong Kong, uncertainty about Brexit, and the sustained Sino-U.S. trade war still trouble markets. Investors are focused on the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium next week. Traders see a 91.2% chance of a 25 basis-point rate cut by the Fed this September. SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 1.31% to 836.66 tonnes on Tuesday from 847.77 tonnes on Monday.