SINGAPORE: Gold slid for a 5th session in six on Wednesday, tumbling to fresh four-year lows as a strong dollar kept investors away from the safe-haven asset and physical demand failed to provide underlying support.
Silver tracked gold lower, hitting its lowest since early 2010, while platinum and palladium also fell.
Underscoring the lack of interest in bullion, holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the top gold-backed exchange traded fund, slumped to a fresh six-year low.
Physical buying of jewellery, coins and bars – which usually picks up at lower prices – has not emerged robustly enough to put a floor under prices.
“There is very little on the horizon that is bullish. Despite the trillions of dollars of stimulus over the past several years, most central bankers are worried about deflation, not inflation,” said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
“In addition, the roaring US equity markets continue to siphon off assets away from alternative investments, including gold,” he said.
The yellow metal is often seen as a hedge against inflation and financial uncertainties.
Spot gold tumbled to $1,151.20 an ounce – its lowest since April 2010 – before recovering modestly to trade down 1.1 per cent at $1,154.68 by 0548 GMT.
Silver fell over 2 per cent to $15.58 – its lowest since February 2010.
Asian shares eased, while the dollar nursed modest losses early on Wednesday as investors decided to take some profits on a four-session rally that swept the greenback to multi-year highs against the yen and euro.
The dollar has been an investor favourite recently, hitting a four-year high against a basket of major currencies earlier this week.
