LONDON: Gold steadied on Thursday as the dollar slumped, its safe-haven appeal lessened by fading fears over Sino-US trade tensions and as investors opted for assets perceived as more risky, like stocks.

The dollar hit a fresh seven-week low against a basket of major currencies, while world stocks inched up amid continued relief that fresh US and Chinese tariffs on reciprocal imports were less harsh than originally feared.

“America is killing itself with these trade tariffs. (They) actually hit America far harder than (they) hit China. The idea that the dollar is all mighty and going to continue to rise is not true,” said Alasdair Macleod, head of research at GoldMoney.com.

“Gold traders are sitting on short positions (but) if the dollar comes down another notch or two, shorts in gold will start to panic. When gold starts moving, it (could) start moving very sharply (higher).”

A weak dollar makes dollar-priced gold cheaper for non-US investors.

Spot gold was flat at $1203.18 at 1045 GMT, after rising 0.5 per cent in the previous session.

US gold futures were flat at $1,202 an ounce.

Investors have been buying the dollar and selling gold in recent months believing the United States has less to lose from a trade dispute than China.

But they may be losing faith in the ability of the US economy to withstand a trade war with China.

Spot silver was flat at $14.22 an ounce, after touching two-week highs at $14.35. Palladium climbed 0.7pc to $1041.50, having hit a fresh five month high of $1,043.

Platinum gained 0.3pc to $823.20, after hitting its highest since Aug 13 at $826.40 in the previous session.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2018