Gold
prices extended their drop for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, as
investors remained cautious ahead of the awaited Jackson Hole Symposium on
Thursday.
Spot
gold traded at $1920 an ounce, set for a fifth daily drop over six sessions, as
the improvement in sentiment on US-China deal dented the appeal of the metal as
a safe haven.
On
Tuesday, both U.S. and Chinese trade representatives reaffirmed their commitment
to a Phase 1 trade deal, providing hopes that trade tensions between the two
economies may ease.
U.S.
stocks benchmarks S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed to an all-time high
during their closing last night.
Now,
the focus will tun on the annual Jackson Hole Symposium, as Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell is predicted to address tolerance for above-target
inflation and central bank’s view on monetary policy.
As
known, gold is an inflation hedge and thereby any comments regarding higher inflation
in the U.S. should provide some support to bullion prices.
The
precious metal is still doing some downside correction after hitting a record
high of $2074 an ounce on August 7, where it may resume its drop until $1900 then
$1850.
SPDR
Gold Trust, the world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its
holdings slipped 0.3 percent to 1,248.87 tonnes on Tuesday.
The
dollar index traded slightly higher at 93.08, ahead of U.S. durable goods
orders data for July due later in the day.
Regarding other precious
metals, silver was 0.8 percent down at 26.37 an ounce. Platinum dipped 0.75
percent to 923.25 an ounce, while palladium eked out a 0.06 percent gain to
2,175.40 an ounce.