Investing.com - The delayed U.S.-China summit and weaker forecasts for Europe are playing into a slowing global growth narrative that could brighten gold bugs' hopes.
Gold traded steady to higher on Thursday after NBC reported that a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping was "highly unlikely" before the March 1 deadline set by the U.S. for reaching a trade deal.
U.S. stocks, a contrarian trade to gold, were also under pressure after the European Commission slashed its euro zone growth forecasts for this year and the next due to an expected slowdown in the largest countries of the bloc, partly on trade tensions.
After Wall Street's strong run in January — on easing trade fears, a dovish Federal Reserve and largely upbeat U.S. earnings — the market has wobbled this month on disappointing forecasts from a number of U.S. companies.
In futures trading, gold's benchmark April contract on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled down 20 cents at $1,314.20 per ounce.
The spot gold contract, reflective of trades in physical bullion, was up $4.26, or 0.3%, at $1,310.79 per ounce by 2:13 PM ET (20:13 GMT).
Gold futures hit highs above $1,300 for five consecutive sessions through Jan. 31, peaking at $1,331.10. The rally was pushed by investors raising their stakes in the metal amid Fed reassurances that it will be patient with rate hikes. At its January meeting, the Fed delivered on signals that it would hold its key rates steady.
Since that rally, the market appeared to have reached a temporary top as the dollar regained its mantle as a safe haven rival to gold. The Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies and also acts as a contrarian trade to gold, was up 0.1 % at 96.26.
But fresh worries about the protracted U.S.-Sino trade war could give gold new life, however, precious metals dealers said.
Donald Trump has vowed to increase U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent currently if Beijing does not reach a trade deal with Washington on March 1. There were signals Thursday that the tariff increases could be delayed.
CNBC said that while the U.S. President and Xi were still expected to meet, there was too much work to be done to flesh out a deal with China and, at the same time, prepare Trump for a high-stakes meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Trump's summit with Kim is set for Feb. 27-28.
Palladium remained the world's most valuable traded metal, with its spot price trading at $1,387.35 per ounce -- up $10.55, or 0.8% on the day.
Spot palladium first traded above gold earlier this month when it hit record highs of $1,440.35 on Jan. 17. Gold's own peaks have been higher in the past, rallying above $1,900 in 2011.
Trades in other Comex metals as of 2:13 PM ET (19:13 GMT):
Palladium futures up $7.40, or 0.6%, at $1,359 per ounce.
Silver futures up 1.6 cents, or 0.1%, at $15.72 per ounce.
Platinum futures down $13.70, or 1.7%, at $800.10 per ounce.
Copper futures down 1.1 cents, or 0.4%, at $2.85 per lb.