Gold Prices Move Higher as Weaker Dollar, Trade Worries Support Demand

Investing.com – Gold prices moved higher as a weaker dollar and U.S.-China trade concerns continued to support demand for the safe haven precious medal.

At 5:15AM ET (9:15GMT), for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $7.40, or around 0.6%, to $1,297.00 a troy ounce.

Meanwhile, the dollar fell after the latest to rate hikes later this year. The minutes released on Wednesday indicated central bankers are happy to let inflation run above the 2% target for a “temporary period”, signaling no rush to tighten monetary policy. 

The that tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies last stood at 93.65, down 0.28% by 5:17AM ET (9:17GMT).

Dollar-denominated assets such as gold are sensitive to moves in the dollar – a drop in the dollar makes gold more affordable for holders of foreign currency and thus increases demand for the precious metal.

Escalating friction between China and the U.S. on trade issues also served to increase appetite for the safe haven asset. U.S. President Donald Trump gave a bleak outlook on Wednesday, calling for a “different structure” in trade negotiations and suggesting that the current deal will be “too hard to get done”.

On Thursday’s economic calendar, market participants will keep an eye on and April .

Policymakers will also be in the spotlight as Atlanta Fed chief and Philadelphia Fed president will speak later on Thursday.

In other metals trading, rose 1.0% at $16.570 a troy ounce by 5:17AM ET (9:75GMT).

slipped 0.1% to $970.40 an ounce, while sister metal gained 0.9% at $909.30.

In base metals, traded up 0.4% to $3.083 a pound.

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