Gold dips further as dollar soars and US-China trade sparring escalates
Platinum, not helped by a depreciating rand, hits its lowest in two-and-a-half years on trade tensions, with spot gold likely to test support at $1,268 an ounce
London — Gold lost further ground on Wednesday after hitting a six-month low in the previous session and as the dollar scaled an 11-month peak on escalating trade tensions, while platinum hit a two-and-a-half-year trough. Trade tensions between the US and China are showing no signs of easing. On Tuesday, a White House trade adviser said that Beijing has under-estimated the US president’s resolve to impose more tariffs. This was after Washington, on Monday, threatened to impose a 10% tariff on $200bn of Chinese goods after Beijing decided to raise tariffs on $50bn of US goods in response to similar tariffs on Chinese goods announced Friday. Gold, seen as a safe-haven asset, usually gains from geopolitical or economic tensions, but has struggled this time around because the dollar has risen strongly, making dollar-priced gold costlier for non-US investors. "Gold is not in a good position with the [US Federal Reserve] hiking [rates] and the dollar strengthening, but the reason it hasn’...
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