Gold steadies as equities ease on Brexit anxiety, palladium soars

• Spot gold was up 0.1pc at $1,482.84 per ounce as of 0957 GMT.
• Silver eased 0.5pc to $17.28 per ounce and platinum slipped 0.7pc to $881.66.
• European equities opened lower and sterling came off five-month highs as the EU and Britain resumed talks in Brussels.

Gold held steady on Wednesday after dropping nearly 1pc in the last session, as European stocks slipped on uncertainties surrounding Britain's departure from the European Union, while palladium hit a new high on tight supplies.

Spot gold was up 0.1pc at $1,482.84 per ounce as of 0957 GMT. US gold futures were up 0.2pc at $1,486.20.

"The euro is firmer against the US dollar, stock markets came back a little bit too, which seems related to the Brexit talks after the euphoria yesterday, but there still are some risks in these talks," said Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig.

"The developments in the US-China trade talks (are) again much ado about nothing, it is at best a ceasefire, but not really a trade agreement ... so economic uncertainties are still quite high and should be supportive for gold."

Last-ditch talks between Britain and the EU to get a Brexit deal that went on past midnight to Wednesday were "constructive", but it was still unclear if London could avoid postponing its departure due on Oct. 31.

Market participants are now awaiting the outcome of the Brexit summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday that will determine whether Britain is headed for a deal to leave the bloc on the due date, a disorderly no-deal exit or a delay.

Souring ties between the United States and China, the US House of Representatives on Tuesday passed four pieces of legislation taking a hard line on Beijing, three related to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, drawing opposition from China.

"Given some of these recent developments, it does appear that the trade deal is more elusive. However, there is strong impetus from both sides to arrive at some sort of a deal over the coming months," said Han Tan, market analyst at FXTM.

European equities opened lower and sterling came off five-month highs as the EU and Britain resumed talks in Brussels.

Indicative of sentiment, holdings of the world's largest gold-backed ETF, SPDR Gold Shares, fell on Tuesday to 919.66 tonnes, but held close to their highest in nearly three years.

Elsewhere, palladium rose 0.6pc to $1,742.56 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $1,744.58 earlier.

The metal used in vehicle exhausts to reduce harmful emissions has climbed about 38pc so far this year on a sustained supply crunch.

The next resistance for the metal was around the $1,753.57 level, Commerzbank analysts said in a weekly technicals note.

Silver eased 0.5pc to $17.28 per ounce and platinum slipped 0.7pc to $881.66.