LONDON: Gold rose on Monday as investors flocked towards safe-haven assets on concerns over a possible recession in the United States that dented the dollar and added to an increasingly bleak picture on global growth.

Spot gold gained 0.3 per cent to $1,316.58 an ounce at 1115 GMT. The metal last week posted its third consecutive weekly gain with a rise of about 1pc.

US gold futures were up 0.3pc at $1,316.70.

Equity markets, meanwhile, hit a 12-day low after global economic worries were exacerbated by an inversion in the US bond yield curve on Friday, stoking fears of a possible recession in the world’s largest economy and boosting demand for assets such as gold and the yen while denting the dollar.

Among other precious metals, palladium slipped 1.5pc to $1,540.17 an ounce, silver gained 0.6pc to $15.50 and platinum was up 0.7pc at $850.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2019