LONDON: Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday but did not see a larger safe-haven boost from tumbling equity markets because the global economy is largely robust and shares were thought likely to rebound.
World stock markets nosedived for a fourth day running on Tuesday, with $4 trillion wiped off since indexes hit record highs eight days ago.
Gold is seen as a safe-haven investment due to its ability to retain value even at times of financial or political uncertainty. It is also used as a hedge against inflation.
But spot gold was up only 0.3 percent at $1,343 per ounce at 1045 GMT, barely extending Monday's 0.5 percent gain.
US gold futures for April delivery rose 0.7 percent to $1,345.90 per ounce on Tuesday.
"Given the overall positive economic environment, we don't think this will be the end of this bull market in equities and that is why we are not too positive on gold right now," said Carsten Menke, commodities analyst at Julius Baer in Zurich.
The selling in equities largely stemmed from technical factors after players targeting volatility in portfolios were caught out on Friday when stronger-than-expected US payrolls data was released and volatility spiked, he added.
The dollar is expected to rebound in the first half of the year and pressure gold, which could sink as low at $1,225, after which bullion should stabilise and rebound, Menke said.
David Govett, head of precious metals at broker Marex Spectron, agreed that share markets would probably bounce back.
"I think this is a healthy, albeit rather vicious correction and we may see more over the next week, but on the whole I really wouldn't panic," he said in a note.
"As such, I don't think gold will go a lot higher."
Last week, the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged but said inflation was likely to rise this year and hinted at "further gradual" rate increases.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising US interest rates, as these increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, while boosting the greenback.
Spot silver rose 0.9 percent to $16.89 per ounce. It fell 3.7 percent on Friday in its biggest one-day decline since December 2016.
Platinum gained 0.6 percent to $995.50 per ounce, while palladium was down 1 percent to $1,020.22 per ounce after touching $1,006.10, its lowest since Dec. 14, 2017.
"The PGMs (platinum group metals) are certainly going to benefit from the better economic backdrop we're now seeing in 2018.
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