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LONDON. – Gold prices steadied yesterday off the previous day’s four-month high, under pressure from a firmer dollar, while buyers of coins, bars and jewellery in Asian markets held off in anticipation of a further price drop.
The dollar held near a two-week high against a basket of major currencies, as heightening tensions in Ukraine helped support safe-haven demand for the US unit.
Geopolitical concerns and an unexpectedly upbeat report on US new home sales yesterday helped the dollar to its biggest one-day rise in about a month, prompting selling of gold after the metal hit its highest since October 30 in Asian trading hours.

Spot gold was down 0,1 percent at US$1 329,41 an ounce at 10.03am GMT, well off yesterday’s high of US$1 345,35/oz.
“Given the lack of serious physical demand, bullion remains at the mercy of investor and dollar sentiment,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital, said.
“The inverse correlation to the US dollar is at highs for the year. The market had run ahead of itself and players will be taking profits on the latest run higher ahead of important macro numbers next week,” he said.

Analysts are awaiting US jobless claims data at 1.30pm GMT as a precursor to next Friday’s US non-farm payrolls report for February, a key indicator of the health of the world’s biggest economy.

A spate of below-consensus US data has curbed expectations that the Federal Reserve would step up tapering of its bullion-friendly monthly bond-buying programme, which prompted much of last year’s fall in gold prices.

Gold has risen more than 10 percent so far this year on uncertainty over the pace of the US economic recovery, worries about growth in China and renewed interest in bullion-backed exchange traded funds.

US gold futures for April delivery were up US$2,20/oz at US$1 330,10.
In the physical market, premiums for gold bars in Singapore slipped to as low as US80c to the spot London prices from a high of US$1,50 last week after a recent increase in prices spurred sales of scrap.

“We are quoting premiums at US80c to US$1 now because the market is flooded with supply, given the low demand,” said a dealer in Singapore.
Silver was up 0,6 percent at US$21,33/oz, recovering some lost ground after falling 2,8 percent the previous day, its biggest price drop in a month.

“That silver struggled to break convincingly through US$22 was . . . likely to frustrate investors,” UBS said.
“The silver market had tried to overcome this level all of last week, and after a couple more failed attempts this week, the urge to secure profits took over and prices finally gave in to the downside.”

Spot platinum underperformed, easing 0,2 percent to US$1 423,25/oz, while spot palladium was up 0,1 percent at US$729,50/oz.
The CE of major platinum producer Impala Platinum said talks between the world’s top three platinum mining companies and South Africa’s striking Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union will resume on Friday in a bid to end a five-week stoppage over wages. – Reuters.