Gold price dips on steady dollar, but political tensions support

New York (Mar 29)  Gold prices dipped on Thursday as the dollar held its strong gains from the previous session, but simmering tensions over Russia and a potential trade war offered support.

Gold posted its biggest one-day percentage fall in nearly nine months on Wednesday after robust U.S. data lifted the dollar, which steadied at those strong levels on Thursday.
     
Spot gold  had slipped 0.1 percent to $1,323.51 per ounce by 1106 GMT, after hitting a low of $1,322.50 earlier in the session, its lowest since March 21. U.S. gold futures for April delivery were down 0.02 percent at $1,324 per ounce.

Spot gold dropped 1.5 percent on Wednesday, the biggest one-day percentage decline since July 3, 2017.

"I don't see gold falling much further from here given the continued geopolitical tensions," said Carsten Fritsch, commodity analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
    "There was an easing of tensions in the Far East regarding
North Korea, but there's still tension between the West and
Russia... this can boil over again and support gold."
    North and South Korea will hold their first summit in more
than a decade on April 27, South Korean officials said on
Thursday, after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged his
commitment to denuclearisation as tensions ease between the old
foes.           
    But Moscow has threatened to take retaliatory action after
the United States and other Western countries expelled more than
100 Russian diplomats over the poisoning of Russian former
double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England with a
military-grade nerve toxin.                           
    Concerns about a global trade war have eased but that does
not mean it is over, said Brian Lan, managing director at dealer
GoldSilver Central in Singapore.
    Gold, often seen as an alternative investment during times
of political and financial uncertainty, was on track for a third
straight quarter of gains, having risen nearly 2 percent so far.
    In other precious metals, spot silver dipped 0.1
percent to $16.24 per ounce after falling to $16.20, its lowest
in one week. Silver was on track to post its worst quarter in
three.
    Platinum rose 0.5 percent to $935.80 per ounce, after
hitting a near three-month low in the previous session. The
metal was down about 5 percent so far this month, on course to
post its worst month since September.
    Palladium, up 0.3 percent to $969.10 an ounce, was
set to fall over 7 percent this month, the steepest drop since
December 2016.
    For the quarter, the metal is down more than 8 percent so
far, its worst since the quarter ended December 2015.