Gold prices trade within a tight range in a low trading session

The gold prices They were trading within a tight range on Wednesday in a slow trading session, as a heightened appetite for risky assets and the appreciation of the dollar offset safe-haven demand driven by the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

At 09:54 GMT, spot gold was almost flat at $ 1,787.83 an ounce, while US gold futures were little changed at $ 1.78.20.

“There are mixed signs“Said Peter Fertig, an analyst at Quantitative Commodity Research, noting that for gold, the pressure of a higher US dollar and higher government bond yields were being offset by support from weak stocks in the US. UK after negative GDP data.

Official data on Wednesday showed that the British economy expanded less than expected in the July-September period, pushing British stocks lower.

But investor sentiment elsewhere remained positive heading into the end of the year, with Asian and European stocks scoring gains despite rising COVID-19 cases.

While omicron concerns abound, the lack of overtly distressing symptoms provides some relief, which is one reason to move into riskier assets, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

The dollar index rose slightly after two days of losses, making gold more expensive for buyers who own other currencies.

Benchmark US Treasury and German government bond yields were holding near recent highs, which weighed on gold as higher returns increase the opportunity cost of owning bullion, which is interest-free.

Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.2% at $ 22.54 an ounce, platinum was up 0.2% at $ 936.70 and palladium was up 2.1% at $ 1,830.76.

With information from Reuters