BENGALURU: Gold held steady on Wednesday, supported by a slight retreat in the dollar while gains were capped by a modest recovery in equities, as caution set in ahead of a no-confidence vote on British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government.

Spot gold was unchanged at $1,289.01 per ounce at 1101 GMT, while US gold futures were little changed at $1,288.80 per ounce. Gold seems to be finding a hurdle at $1,300, said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch, adding that physical demand for gold coins had picked up in Britain, aided by Brexit uncertainty.

“Stock markets have recovered and the pricing in of the US Federal Reserve rate hike has almost ended. Political uncertainty remains and that does not seem enough to push gold past $1,300.”

Among other precious metals, palladium rose 0.8 per cent to $1,328 an ounce. Platinum gained 0.3pc to $796, while silver shed 0.1pc to $15.57 an ounce.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2019