Gold has risen as investors seek assets seen as havens from risk after deadly bomb attacks hit Brussels airport and a rush-hour Metro train in the Belgian capital.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks which killed at least 30 people, triggering security alerts across Europe that brought some cross-border traffic to a halt.
Spot gold rallied more than one per cent to a high of $US1,259.60 an ounce following the attacks, before paring some of those gains.
“We had knee-jerk reactions across the financial world when tragic events in Brussels were revealed. And then there was a partial snapback,” said Bill O'Neill, co-founder of commodities investment firm Logic Advisors in New Jersey
"Longer term, the situation in Europe is likely to worsen and is supportive for gold," he said referring to expectations of a prolonged era of ultra-low interest rates.
Spot gold was steady on Wednesday, with the impact of a stronger dollar offsetting a slight swell in the metal's safe-haven appeal after the bomb attacks in Belgium.
Venezuela exported about 443 million Swiss francs ($456 million) worth of gold to Switzerland in February, data showed on Tuesday, as the South American country's central bank carried out swaps to receive cash due to a biting economic crisis.
Reference: Business News, Reuters, Kitco
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