LONDON: Gold gained on Wednesday, recouping some losses after a nearly 2pc decline in the previous session, as a rally in equities stalled and the outcome of US-China trade talks looked uncertain again.

Spot gold rose 0.1pc to $1,485.07 per ounce at 1243 GMT. US gold futures were up 0.2pc at $1,486.50.

“There is a bit of caution in the marketplace today. We still don’t know if there is a (US-China trade) deal yet. We need to wait-and-see whether there is going to be any confirmation regarding trade talks,” said Afshin Nabavi, senior vice president at precious metals trader MKS SA.

There was also some short covering in the gold market after Tuesday’s sharp decline, Nabavi said.

Gold, seen as a safe haven during times of economic uncertainty, dropped to a near three-week low of $1,479.25 an ounce in the previous session and registered its biggest one-day percentage drop since late September at 1.7pc.

In other precious metals, silver fell 0.8pc to $17.45 per ounce, having touched its lowest since October 17 earlier. Platinum was down 0.5pc at $924.52 per ounce. The metal hit a one-week low of $917. Palladium gained 0.8pc to $1,791.86.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2019