London — Gold prices sank to six-month lows on Thursday as investors sold holdings in the physical market and the dollar climbed due to the expectation of higher interest rates in the US. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,263.96/oz at 12.44pm GMT but off a low of $1,261.36, its weakest level since December 20. It has lost more than 7% since an April high above $1,365/oz. US gold futures were down 0.8% at $1,264.50/oz. Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange traded fund (ETF), the New York-listed SPDR Gold Trust have fallen nearly 5% to 26.645-million ounces since late April. That trend is reflected in other US based ETFs. "Uncertainty would normally fuel demand for gold as a safe haven, which we would see in the physically backed products, but instead we are seeing outflows from the US products," said Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke. "From the perspective of a US investor, focused on the domestic market and economy, the threat from trade tensions is much lower than in Europe. US ...
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