• Gold prices briefly rallied to session highs as President Donald Trump officially pulled U.S. support from the international nuclear agreement with Iran; however, analysts say that more needs to happen for gold to see sustainable gains.
• The spot gold price is slightly higher following a brief increase on Tuesday after the US dollar backed down from a new 2018 high as worries hovered over the United States' decision to pull out of a key nuclear accord with Iran.
• Spot gold was slightly higher at $US1,315.10 per ounce, while US gold futures for June delivery settled down $US0.40, or 0.03 per cent, at $US1,313.70 per ounce.
• US President Donald Trump announced that he is pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, after European officials struggled to persuade him that the accord has halted Iran's nuclear ambitions.
• "It must be the dollar which is providing the major influence on (gold's) direction," said Razaqzada. "However, gold has held its own relatively better than the euro in the dollar's slipstream, suggesting that there is a degree or two of safe haven flows into the precious metal."
• Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said that while gold could push to $1,320 in the near-term, markets need more specific information to build a lasting uptrend.
“This means that there is more risk in the world, but the markets need to see how this is going to impact economic growth and interest rate expectations,” he said. “We need to see what happens in equity markets in the next few days to see the true impact on gold.”
Melek added that the market will also need more information on what sanctions will be put on Iran. He noted that so far the U.S. is the only country to pull its support for the nuclear agreement.
• John Weyer, Director Commercial Hedging Services, said that while the news will provide some support for gold in the near-term, he personally doubts that the market will be able to hold its gains, unless there is a shift in the global economy that impacts investor sentiment.
He added that one scenario that would be positive for gold is if oil prices push higher, boosting inflation, which would create some risk for economic growth.
• Spot gold may revisit its May 1 low of $1,301.51 per ounce as it twice failed to break resistance at $1,317, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
• India's gold imports in April fell for a fourth straight month from a year ago to 57 tonnes, on subdued demand after local prices jumped to 21 month highs, provisional data from consultancy GFMS and bank dealers showed.
• In 2018, gold will deliver its strongest annual price performance in five years, GFMS analysts forecast, as political uncertainty drives investment in bars and bullion-backed funds.
• Silver rose 0.2 percent at $16.47 an ounce, earlier hitting close to a one-week low at $16.30. Platinum gained 0.5 percent at $912.20 per ounce. While Palladium fell 0.1 percent at $970.70 an ounce.
Reference: Reuters, Kitco
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