Gold steadies near 6-month peak

Gold steadied on Friday near the previous session’s six-month high as volatility in equity markets and concerns about global growth kept interest in the safe-haven assets firm.

Spot gold was flat at $1,259.37 per ounce at 1412GMT, after jumping 1.3 per cent in the previous session to hit its highest since June 26 at $1,266.40. US gold futures fell 0.4 per cent to $1,263.50 per ounce. “The risk-off environment and expectations for a slowdown next year should be supportive for gold,” said Craig Erlam, an analyst at Oanda, adding that a bounce in the dollar had taken the shine off gold.