Investing.com – Gold prices eased from sessions highs as the dollar pared some of its losses after trade war fears receded slightly.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $2.30, or 0.18%, to $1,339.80 a troy ounce.
Gold eased from a session high of $1,352.30 as trade war fears receded somewhat after traders questioned whether the recent tariffs announced by the U.S. and China were part of negotiation tactic.
Mizuho said Wednesday the US Treasury Department’s decision to extend the initial 30-day consultation period to 60 days was a sign that the “U.S. side has already left room for negotiation.”
China announced tariffs on 106 U.S. products after the Trump administration on Tuesday provided details on the $50 billion of Chinese goods that could be subject to 25% duties unless China makes trade and investment concessions.
Dovish comments from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Wednesday, drew a somewhat muted reaction in gold prices despite the Fed policymaker’s attempts to dampen investor expectations for further rate hikes.
“It is not necessary in this circumstance to raise the policy rate further in order to put downward pressure on inflation, since inflation is already below target,” Bullard said.
In a rising interest rate environment, investor appetite for gold weakens as the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal increases relative to interest-bearing assets such as bonds.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 0.68% to $16.28 a troy ounce, while platinum futures fell 1.13% to $920.80 an ounce.
Copper fell 1.75% to $3.06.