Gold steadies at over one-month high as weak dollar, bond yields lift appeal

Gold at over one-month high

Gold prices climbed on Tuesday to their highest point in more than a month, supported by a weaker US dollar and lower Treasury yields, as investors looked for progress in trade talks ahead of an August 1 deadline.

Spot gold was unchanged at $3,390.69 per ounce, as of 0258 GMT. Earlier in the session, bullion hit its highest level since June 17.

US gold futures held their ground at $3,405.20.

"Gold's move on the upside has been pretty much supported by positive technicals and as well as reinforced by a broad base of dollar weakness," OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said.

The US dollar index was hovering near a more than one-week low against its rivals, making greenback-priced gold less expensive for other currency holders. [USD/]

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields hit a more than one-week low on Monday. [USD/US/]

The European Union is exploring a broader set of possible counter measures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable trade agreement with Washington fade, according to EU diplomats.

US President Donald Trump has threatened 30% duties on imports from Europe if no agreement is signed before the August 1 deadline.

"There could be a possibility that US and the respective trading partners may not agree to the terms and condition and that potentially could see a bit of uncertainty and there could be some hedging activities by market participants going forward," Wong said.

Also on radar, the European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady at 2.0% following a string of cuts at the end of its policy meeting on July 24. The US Federal Reserve monetary policy is scheduled for next week.

Traders are pricing about a 59% chance of a rate cut by the Fed in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Gold tends to perform well in a low-interest-rate environment.

Spot silver eased 0.2% to $38.84 per ounce, platinum added 0.8% to $1,449.11 and palladium fell 0.2% to $1,262.89.