LONDON: Gold steadied on Thursday as the dollar came off the boil, though the market lacked direction and seemed unable to capitalise on escalating trade tensions.

Stock markets and commodities regained some poise after a turbulent session on Wednesday when the United States ratcheted up trade war threats on China, while the dollar held at a nine day high.

The dollar’s failure to push ahead, especially against the euro, is viewed by some market watchers as a sign it may have peaked for now as the Federal Reserve might slow its cycle of rate increases if stocks fall sharply. A weaker dollar makes dollar-priced gold cheaper for non-US investors who make up the bulk of gold buyers.

Silver was 0.7pc higher at $15.85 an ounce. Earlier in the session it fell to its lowest since mid-December at $15.72 an ounce. Platinum was up 0.3pc at $827.25 an ounce, after falling to a more than one week low at $821.25 earlier, while palladium was 0.3pc higher at $938.98 per ounce.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2018