Gold firm as dollar, equities fall ahead of Trump-Xi meeting
Gold prices held firm on Thursday on the back of a weaker dollar and as appetite for risky assets such as equities waned ahead of a potentially tense meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart.
Spot gold inched down 0.1 per cent to $1,253.75 per ounce by 0700 GMT. US gold futures were up 0.6 per cent at $1,255.60, after climbing as much as 1 per cent to $1,260.80 earlier in the day.
Investors were cautious ahead of the meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping due later on Thursday, the first between the world's two most powerful leaders.
Topping the agenda at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida will be whether he makes good on his threat to use US-China trade ties to pressure Beijing to do more to rein in its nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea.
Spot gold hit $1,261.15 on Tuesday, its highest since Feb. 27, but has failed to breach a key 200-day moving average of $1,258.
"It just hasn't shown any ability to break the 200-day moving average and clearly shows that the price action is not being driven in isolation but has been driven by the US dollar," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"It is kind of looking like gold is running out of steam in the short term."
Lingering fears of a possible trade war kept Asian markets on edge.
The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.1 per cent to 100.460.
US Federal Reserve's March minutes on Wednesday showed most policymakers think the central bank should take steps to begin trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year as long as the economic data holds up.
Falling equities, driven by the Fed's hawkish tone, have supported gold and should prices decisively move above the 200-day moving average, more quantitative money could start coming in, said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
"A plethora of troubling geopolitical events, along with the upcoming French elections, still percolate in the background and have the capacity to provide an element of support to gold, at least over the short term."
Spot gold may rise to $1,265 per ounce, as suggested by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
Spot silver dropped 0.4 per cent to $18.19 an ounce.
Platinum fell 0.7 per cent to $953, while palladium rose 0.5 per cent to $808.60. It hit a more than two-year high of $815.70 in the prior session.
Spot gold inched down 0.1 per cent to $1,253.75 per ounce by 0700 GMT. US gold futures were up 0.6 per cent at $1,255.60, after climbing as much as 1 per cent to $1,260.80 earlier in the day.
Investors were cautious ahead of the meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping due later on Thursday, the first between the world's two most powerful leaders.
Topping the agenda at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida will be whether he makes good on his threat to use US-China trade ties to pressure Beijing to do more to rein in its nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea.
Spot gold hit $1,261.15 on Tuesday, its highest since Feb. 27, but has failed to breach a key 200-day moving average of $1,258.
"It just hasn't shown any ability to break the 200-day moving average and clearly shows that the price action is not being driven in isolation but has been driven by the US dollar," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"It is kind of looking like gold is running out of steam in the short term."
Lingering fears of a possible trade war kept Asian markets on edge.
The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.1 per cent to 100.460.
US Federal Reserve's March minutes on Wednesday showed most policymakers think the central bank should take steps to begin trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year as long as the economic data holds up.
Falling equities, driven by the Fed's hawkish tone, have supported gold and should prices decisively move above the 200-day moving average, more quantitative money could start coming in, said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
"A plethora of troubling geopolitical events, along with the upcoming French elections, still percolate in the background and have the capacity to provide an element of support to gold, at least over the short term."
Spot gold may rise to $1,265 per ounce, as suggested by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
Spot silver dropped 0.4 per cent to $18.19 an ounce.
Platinum fell 0.7 per cent to $953, while palladium rose 0.5 per cent to $808.60. It hit a more than two-year high of $815.70 in the prior session.
