By Rahul Paswan
(Reuters) – Gold prices eased on Thursday as the dollar regained some ground, although concerns over the U.S.-China trade war kept the safe-haven bullion close to a record high level hit in the previous session.
Spot gold was 0.4% lower at $2,854.39 per ounce by 0802 GMT, after hitting an all-time peak of $2,882.16 in the previous session.
U.S. gold futures shed 0.6% to $2,875.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major rivals, was up 0.2%. [USD/]
“Investors are trying not to miss this rally as they place their position because they are happy with the returns. That’s the reason why it’s (gold) hitting successive highs,” said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.
“Bullion could hit the $3,000 level soon … However, what could make the market consolidate will be some clarity on trade ties or easing trade tensions.”
On Wednesday, China filed a World Trade Organization complaint against U.S. President Donald Trump’s new 10% tariff on Chinese imports.
A trade war between the world’s two largest economies could weigh on global growth and drive up inflation, benefiting the bullion further as it is considered a safe investment during economic and geopolitical turmoil.
“The gold bull market looks set to continue under Trump 2.0 with trade wars and geopolitical tensions reinforcing the reserve diversification/de-dollarization trend and supporting EM official sector gold demand,” Citi said in a note.
“Global growth concerns are also set to raise ETF and over-the-counter investment demand.”
U.S. Federal Reserve officials also pointed to the large policy uncertainty around tariffs and issues arising from the early days of Trump’s administration as among the top challenges in figuring out where to take the monetary policy in the months ahead.
Market focus is now on U.S. weekly jobless claims data, due at 1330 GMT, and the non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which could offer insights into the economy’s overall strength.
Spot silver dropped 1.3% to $31.91 per ounce, and palladium fell 0.4% to $985.48. Platinum gained 0.2% to $981.74.
(Reporting by Rahul Paswan in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Swati Verma; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Eileen Soreng)
