Investing.com – Gold prices held steady near recent highs on Monday, as fears of a potential trade war and political uncertainty in Europe continued to support demand for safe-haven assets.
Comex were little changed at $1,324.1 a troy ounce by 08:25 a.m. ET (12:25 GMT), the highest since February 27.
Risk sentiment weakened after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans on Thursday of 25% on imported steel and 10% on aluminum, in a move to “protect U.S. industry”.
The move sparked concerns over a potential trade war, which would have a negative impact on the U.S. economy, sending the greenback broadly lower.
The , which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was also steady at 90.00, after falling to 89.83 on Friday.
Gold is sensitive to moves in both U.S. rates and the dollar. A weaker dollar makes gold less expensive for holders of foreign currency, while a rise in U.S. rates lifts the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
Markets were also jittery after Italian elections on Sunday with none of the country’s three main groups able to rule alone.
On a more positive note, Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) voted on Sunday for with Chancelor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, ending two months of political uncertainty. The new government could be in place in less than two weeks.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gained 0.33% to $16.51 a troy ounce.
Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.
Source: Investing.com
