Gold firms in narrow range as dollar slips

Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,222.65 per ounce at 1056 GMT

Gold edged higher yesterday as the dollar weakened after the previous session’s rally, though gains were seen as limited by a recovery in equity markets after a sell-off.

Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at $1,222.65 (Dh4,491) per ounce at 1056 GMT, but moved in a narrow $6 range ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday.

US gold futures rose 0.2 per cent to $1,223.3 per ounce.

Gold, which sometimes benefits from volatility in the wider markets, ended on Tuesday lower as investors sought refuge in the dollar from a slide in world stocks and crude oil prices, but the metal fared better than other commodities, analysts said.

“The big sell-off in equity markets, the big sell-off in oil helped to prop up gold prices, maybe not to a degree many would expect, but it did hold up relatively well compared to the rest of the commodities,” ING analyst Warren Patterson said.

“It’s a weaker dollar that has made prices firmer today,” he said. “There is also growing concern around the global economy as a result of trade issues of late that has provided some support to gold.”

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, weakened after posting its biggest daily percentage gain in two weeks on Tuesday.