• Gold prices slipped on Wednesday as U.S. threat of tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods pushed safe-haven flows to the U.S. dollar and dashed hopes that Washington would eventually step back from the escalating row.
• U.S. President Donald Trump detailed overnight a list of Chinese products that could face 10 percent tariffs. The clock now starts ticking on a two-month period of public comment before the levies are imposed.
The news sent the U.S. dollar to an 11-month high versus the yuan and hit the Australian dollar, but left the euro largely unmoved.
• A strong greenback makes U.S. dollar-priced gold costlier for non-American investors.
• "Gold is feeling the pressure from commodities across the board and the firmer dollar," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures in Chicago."
• Spot gold gained 0.9 percent at $1,243.57 per ounce by 1:34 p.m. EDT (1734 GMT), earlier sinking to an eight-day low of $1,242.55.
• U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled down $11, or 0.9 percent, at $1,244.40 per ounce.
• "Gold options keep getting higher and higher, which means people are positioned for prices to rise. It tells us there is overhanging positive sentiment to gold but right now the money is sitting on the sidelines," ING analyst Oliver Nugent said.
The news of more possible U.S. tariffs on China is the latest in a tit-for-tat spat between the world's two largest economies.
• Spot gold may break support at $1,247 per ounce and fall more towards the next support at $1,237 as it has completed a bounce from the July 3 low of $1,237.32, Reuters technicals analyst Wang Tao said.
• "When trade-war risk escalates, investors run for cover ... I always have gold as a hedge but it's been more challenging to have this view when the U.S. dollar is attracting haven flows," said Stephen Innes, APAC trading head at OANDA.
• Falling equities, seen as risky assets, usually help gold, a traditional safe haven.
• The fact that investors are siphoning money out of stocks is not helping gold, with the safe-haven asset suffering as people wary of a global trade war flock to the U.S. dollar.
U.S. fund investors pulled $1 billion from commodity funds, including those invested in the precious metal, the largest withdrawals since July 2017, Investment Company Institute (ICI) data showed on Wednesday.
• Data from Thomson Reuters’ Lipper research unit last week showed precious metals commodities funds posted nine consecutive weeks of withdrawals, with $2billion pouring out in June alone, the most since December 2016.
• William Rhind, chief executive officer at fund manager GraniteShares Inc, said a trade war could eventually generate inflation that will benefit gold.
“At the moment, the positive inflationary pressures caused by trade tariffs are being beaten back by dollar strength,” said Rhind.
• Silver shed 1.4 percent at $15.82 an ounce, while platinum dropped 1.4 percent at $830.60. Earlier in the session, both metals fell to their lowest since July 3. Palladium lost 0.2 percent at $939.50 per ounce, after falling to a two-week low at $931.40.
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