· Gold prices rose slightly on Thursday, after gaining for two straight sessions, supported by a slightly weaker dollar versus the yen in Asian trade.
· Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,214.51 an ounce at 0400 GMT, having gained 0.2 percent in the previous session.
· U.S. gold futures were up 0.15 percent at $1,222.8 an ounce.
· The Japanese yen rose to two-week high against the dollar on Thursday ahead of trade talks between the United States and Japan and amid speculation over when the Japanese central bank will exit its ultra-easy monetary policy.
· The U.S. dollar also slipped against the Chinese yuan but held steady against other major rivals .
· “There’s no major event that’s driving gold prices...It’s going to be trading in a very tight range,” said Richard Xu, a fund manager at HuaAn Gold, China’s biggest gold exchange-traded fund.
· “It seems that people are still thinking the rate hike is going to come, so gold is not really a good investment for now. If there are expectations of faster rate hikes or higher inflation, then gold prices will see further downside pressure,” Xu said.
· Meanwhile, Asian shares edged higher on Thursday, as a rally in Chinese stocks helped offset the latest bout of Sino-U.S. trade tensions, while Russia’s rouble tumbled as the United States slapped fresh sanctions on the country.
· China late on Wednesday said would it slap additional tariffs of 25 percent on $16 billion worth of U.S. imports, in retaliation to news the United States plans to begin collecting 25 percent extra in tariffs on $16 billion of Chinese goods from Aug. 23.
· In other precious metals, silver rose 0.2 percent to $15.42 an ounce, while platinum gained 0.9 percent at $834.10.
· Palladium climbed 0.5 percent to $904.25 per ounce, after hitting a more than two-week low in the previous session.
· Indicators are showing gold 0.16% are hitting its bottom at 1200 oz/ Resurgence to 1340 oz likely in the near term.
Reference: Reuters, Trading View
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