Gold slips on firmer dollar; political uncertainty supports

LONDON: Gold dipped on Thursday as the dollar strengthened, but losses were capped by continuing economic uncertainty around Britain's departure from the European Union and approaching French elections.

The potential for the rise of the far right in European elections this year, along with British Prime Minister formally triggering divorce proceedings from the EU on Wednesday has served to enhance gold's appeal as a safe-haven investment, negating some of the effects of a strong dollar.

Spot gold was down 0.18 percent at $1,249.71 an ounce by 1152 GMT. US gold futures slipped 0.3 percent to $1,249.50.

"The market seemed to take the notification of the (triggering of) Article 50 in the UK relatively smoothly, but I suspect the worst is yet to come on that," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.

"But certainly, there was a tiny bit of safe-haven buying."

The dollar edged up to a nine-day high against a basket of currencies on Thursday. A stronger greenback makes dollar-denominated gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, potentially lowering demand.

The dollar was also boosted by Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, who said he was in line with most of his colleagues in supporting further interest rate increases this year.

In other precious metals, spot silver slipped 0.4 percent to $18.12 an ounce, having hit a four-week high of $18.25 in the previous session.

Platinum rose 0.4 percent to $955.36, while palladium was flat at $790.