Investing.com - It's supposed to be a safe haven for the world's troubles, yet losing out to the dollar when it comes to Brexit and the U.S.-China trade war is severely costing gold.
Bullion and futures of gold eked out a quarterly gain on Friday as trading for March ended.
But gold's return to below the key $1,300-an-ounce level cast clouds over an asset regarded as insurance to global economic and political woes. It is still unable to dominate the dollar or hold its own against equities in matters concerning Britain's EU exit and Beijing-Washington trade negotiations.
Spot gold, reflective of trades in bullion, was at $1,292.24 an ounce by 4:31 PM ET, up 0.2% on the day, down 1.5% for the week, flat for March and up nearly 1% for the quarter.
Gold futures for June delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, settled the official trading session at $1,298.50, also up 0.2% on the day.
“If we have a positive outcome from the (U.S.-China) trade talks, gold will be under pressure as investors will rotate out into more risk-seeking assets” such as the dollar and equities, said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst with OANDA.
“But, if we have a disappointing outcome, then stocks will go down, and people will move into safe-haven assets like gold," Halley said. "The market is very much in a wait-and-see mode.”
Despite turbulence in equity markets over the last 10 days, the S&P 500 managed to rise about 1.8% during March, while its 13.1% advance is its best quarterly performance since 2009.
The dollar, meanwhile, had its best monthly performance in the last five months, making dollar-denominated gold more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.
Not all are pessimistic about gold's fortunes, though, with some seeing it even climb to $1,400 eventually.
"Slowing U.S. economic forces and a Fed turning dovish is a good sign for gold," said Matthew Tuttle, founder of the $600-million-asset Tuttle Tactical Management fund in Riverside, Conn. "This puts future interest rate hikes on hold or could even lead to a start of a new cutting cycle in 2020."
Until recently, real interest rates had risen for about two quarters, Tuttle added, and gold has rallied as well.
"This is a bullish sign and could signal a move beyond $1,400."
Palladium, which crashed this week to levels close to gold after trading nearly $300 more at one point, jumped almost 9% for the quarter.
The spot price of the silvery-white metal, used for purifying gasoline emissions, was at $1,379.95, up 2.4% in Friday's trade.
Trades in other Comex metals as of 4:30 PM ET (20:40 GMT):
Platinum futures up 10.05, 1.2%, at $853.85 per ounce.
Silver futures up 13 cents, or 0.9%, at $15.11 per ounce.
Copper futures up 6 cents, or 2.1%, at $2.93 per pound.