Gold advances as US dollar backs off from highs

NEW YORK/LONDON: Gold rose from near 18-month lows on Tuesday, with futures breaking back above the key $1,200 level as the dollar softened and some analysts said the precious metal may have fallen too far.

The dollar, in which gold is priced, was a touch lower against a basket of its peers as the Turkish lira regained its footing, easing concerns of knock-on disruption to global markets.

Still, safe-haven buying due to the financial turmoil in Turkey helped bring gold off its lows, said Josh Graves, senior commodities strategist for RJO Futures.

Spot gold gained 0.04 percent at $1,193.71 per ounce by 2:41 p.m. EDT (1841 GMT). In the previous session, it hit $1,191.35, its lowest since Jan. 30, 2017.

U.S. December gold futures settled up $1.80, or 0.2 percent, at $1,200.70 per ounce.

"A lot of investors got very disappointed because they thought that gold would be the safe haven in trade conflict and also with Turkey and emerging markets and it wasn't," said Georgette Boelle, commodity strategist at ABN AMRO.

Gold, which is down about 8 percent this year, has faced a slate of headwinds in 2018, including rising U.S. interest rates, a soaring dollar and failure to capitalize on its traditional role as a hedge against risk amid global uncertainty.

Instead, investors have opted for U.S. Treasuries, seen as the ultimate safe haven, which meant they had to buy dollars.

"A washout down to $1,150 is in the cards before you get any type of support. There is no reason to be bullish about gold," Graves added.

Some investors see the high level of shorts and low positioning in ETFs as an indication that gold is due for a turnaround as it is oversold.

"Gold is a proven inflation hedge and a safe-haven asset in the case of shocks to economic growth, and we believe that current weakness presents an opportunity to benefit from the recovery of this undervalued sector," said David Baker, fund manager and managing partner at Baker Steel Capital Managers.

In technicals, the next support for gold is at $1,180, a January 2017 low, said ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa, adding that the lack of a rebound suggested the main trend remained bearish.

Spot platinum rose 0.3 percent at $800.50 per ounce, after dropping 3.6 percent to a three-week low at $791.50 on Monday.

Silver rose from an over 13-month low of $14.94 in the previous session, increasing 0.7 percent to $15.05.

Palladium rose 0.6 percent to $895.50 per ounce.