Gold prices lower

BENGALURU. — Gold prices inched lower on yesterday as the dollar held firm, while investors awaited clues on the pace of future US interest rate hikes and as the US-China trade spat sours ahead of a G20 summit.

Spot gold inched 0,1 percent lower to $1,220.97 per ounce at 0702 GMT.

US gold futures were down 0,2 percent at $1,220.2 an ounce.

Investors will hold steady until the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting are released and more clarity emerges around the trade conflict leading into the G20 summit, said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, US President Donald Trump said he expects to move ahead with raising tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 percent from the current 10 percent, and repeated his threat to slap tariffs on all remaining imports from China.

The comments ran counter to recent speculation about a possible deal when Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires later this week.

“When these concerns have elevated, investors have tended to seek haven in the US dollar itself rather than gold. It has been an issue plaguing the gold market for a while now,” Hynes said.

Gold prices have lost over 10 percent from their April peak as investors turned to the dollar as a safe haven with the trade war unfolding against a backdrop of higher US interest rates.

The dollar index yesterday held gains and hovered near its highest level since November 15.

Investors also awaited Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech and minutes from Fed’s November 7-8 meeting, due later this week, which will likely indicate the pace of interest rate hikes in 2019.

Slowing global growth has raised expectations the Fed may halt its tightening cycle sooner than previously expected.