Investing.com - Gold prices turned lower on Wednesday, as upbeat U.S. employment data lent support to the greenback, although concerns over a potential global trade war persisted.
Comex gold futures were down 0.34% at $1,330.9 a troy ounce by 08:25 a.m. ET (12:25 GMT), off the one-and-a-half week high of $1,341.70 hit earlier in the day.
The dollar rebounded after payrolls processor ADP reported on Wednesday that the U.S. private sector added 235,000 jobs in February, well above economists' expectations.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 89.56, after falling to a two-week trough of 89.36 earlier Wednesday.
Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency.
But investors remained cautious after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would push ahead with his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports despite growing pressure from political allies to back down from the measures.
Last week Trump announced plans to impose imports tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum in a recommitment to his nationalist trade agenda.
Markets were also jittery after Trump's economic adviser Gary Cohn announced his resignation on Tuesday. The decision was said to have been made following a disgreement between Cohn and the U.S. President over the import tariffs.
Traders fear that the proposed tariffs could spark inflation and provoke retaliation from U.S. trade partners. Major holders of U.S. Treasuries, including China and the European Union, could reduce their holdings of U.S. assets in response.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures declined 0.77% to $16.66 a troy ounce.