LONDON: Gold prices crept higher on Monday after touching a 19-month low last week as a strengthening currency in China made the metal cheaper for buyers in the world’s biggest gold consumer.

Gold has tumbled 13 per cent from an April high as the dollar powered higher against the yuan and other currencies, raising the cost of dollar-priced bullion outside the United States.

But prices would have to move above $1,200 an ounce for speculative investors who have built large bets on lower prices to be shaken from their positions, he added.

Spot gold was up 0.1pc at $1,185.64 an ounce at 1245 GMT after Thursday’s dip to $1,159.96, the lowest since January 2017.

US gold futures were up 0.7pc at $1,192.20 an ounce.

But downward pressure from speculators remains strong.

Bets on lower prices by hedge funds and money managers on the Comex exchange continue to build and outweigh bets on higher prices by 77,273 lots, the largest quantity ever recorded.

Technical and momentum indicators suggest gold will fall towards support at its January 2017 low of $1,146.20, said analysts at ScotiaMocatta. Fibonacci resistance was at $1,185.30, they said.

In other precious metals, spot silver was down 0.5pc at $14.69 an ounce after hitting its lowest since February 2016 last week. Platinum rose 1.5pc to $793.50 an ounce but remained close to its lowest in a decade, while palladium, , which last week traded at its weakest since July last year, was up 0.6pc at $916 an ounce.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2018