Gold steadied near a six month low on Wednesday, June 20, as a dollar rally to 11 month peaks was offset
by festering global trade tensions, while platinum hit a 2-1/2 year trough.
Trade tensions between the United States and China are showing no signs of easing. On Tuesday, a White House trade adviser said that Beijing has underestimated the U.S. president’s resolve to impose more tariffs.
Gold, seen as a safe haven asset, usually gains from geopolitical or economic tensions, but has struggled this time around because the dollar has risen strongly, making dollar-priced gold costlier for non-U.S. investors.
“Gold is not in a good position with the (Federal Reserve) hiking (rates) and the dollar strengthening, but the reason it hasn’t fallen as much as you’d expect is that safe haven demand has sustained the price,” said Capital Economics analyst Simona Gambarini.
Spot gold was flat at $1,273.81 an ounce, as of 1230 GMT. The metal fell to its lowest since Dec. 22 at $1,270 an ounce on Tuesday.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down 0.2 percent at $1,276.10 per ounce.
Platinum declined 0.5 percent to $862.90 an ounce. Silver dipped 0.2 percent at $16.25 an ounce, having a one month low of $16.21 hit in the previous session, Reuters reports.
