Investing.com - Gold prices slipped on Thursday as tariff fears and rate hike views buoyed the U.S. dollar.
Gold Futures for December delivery lost 0.5% to $1,197.8 per troy ounce at 1:20AM ET (05:20 GMT) on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The precious metal lost momentum as fears of another round of U.S. tariffs on China and expectations of higher interest rates lifted the US dollar.
“People are worried about the fresh round of U.S. tariffs on China and are buying the dollar, which is seen as a safe haven now,” said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong.
The dollar advanced for the first day in six on Thursday, as the U.S. Dollar Index which tracks the greenback against other currencies gained 0.4% to 95.34 after the Federal Reserve said in its most recent policy meeting that it is ready to hike rates again as long as the U.S. economy remains healthy.
“Many participants suggested that if incoming data continued to support their current economic outlook, it would likely soon be appropriate to take another step in removing policy accommodation,” minutes of the July 31-Aug. 1 Federal Open Market Committee meeting released Wednesday in Washington said.
Meanwhile, China and the U.S. officials held lower-level trade talks this week for the first time in two months as the two countries seek to resolve the escalating trade dispute, although U.S. President has said he did not expect much to happen during the meeting. Washington is due to impose $16 billion worth of new tariffs on Chinese products later in the day, while China said it would impose retaliatory tariffs on the same amount of U.S. goods.