Investing.com - Gold prices remained at six-month lows on Thursday, as trade tensions between the U.S. and China resurfaced.
Comex gold futures for August delivery were down 0.46% to $1,268.60 a troy ounce as of 10:57 AM ET (14:57 GMT).
Tensions between the U.S. and China continue, as the two largest economies in the world faced a tit-for-tat over trade tariffs. Earlier this week U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese goods. Investors fear China could strike back at blue-chip firms including Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Boeing (NYSE:BA), which rely on China for revenue.
The European Union is also expected to impose tariffs on about $3.4 billion of U.S. imports on Friday, including motorcycles, orange juice and cranberry sauce. The expected tariffs have added to tensions as investors fear an outright global trade war between the U.S., the EU and China.
Traders often turn to gold in times of political uncertainty, as the precious metal is often considered a safe haven from the impact of geopolitics but gold has struggled amid the latest political risks due to the strength in the greenback.
Meanwhile the U.S. dollar was lower. Gold normally rises as the dollar falls, as the precious metal is denominated in the U.S. currency and is sensitive to moves in the dollar but was held back despite a fall in greenback.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was at 94.50, falling 0.30%.
Bullion becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies when the dollar rises and cheaper when it falls.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures were down 0.12% to $16.290 a troy ounce. Among other precious metals, Platinum Futures fell 1.03% to $865.10 while Palladium Futures decreased 0.54% to $952.00 an ounce. Copper futures lost 0.25% to $3.033 a pound.