Gold loses ground amid anxiety around trade war
The metal is weaker as concern over the escalating US-China trade conflict batters emerging-market currencies and prompts investors to search for safety
London — Gold slipped on Tuesday as the concern over an escalating trade conflict between the US and China battered emerging-market currencies and prompted investors to seek perceived safety in the dollar. A stronger dollar makes dollar-priced gold costlier for non-US investors. The dollar index rallied as the public comment period on a US proposal for new tariffs on Chinese goods is set to end Thursday, after which Washington can follow through on plans to impose tariffs on $200bn more of Chinese imports. Emerging-market currencies like the Argentine peso, Turkish lira, rand, Brazilian real, Indonesian rupiah and Indian rupee sank as investors fear these export-orientated economies will be caught in the escalating trade conflict. Also, the US dollar’s status as the chief reserve currency makes it the primary beneficiary of trade conflicts. "As long as the dollar focus remains strong upside potential seems limited [for gold]," said Saxo Bank’s head of commodity strategy Ole Hansen. ...
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