Gold dips as risk appetite improves; palladium holds above $1,400

Gold slipped to the lowest in more than a week on Friday as hopes of a thaw in the US-China trade dispute perked up stock markets, while palladium held above $1,400 on a supply crunch.

Spot gold was down 0.4 percent to $1,285.82 per ounce at 1127 GMT, having hit its lowest since Jan. 9 at $1,283.51.

US gold futures were down 0.5 percent at $1,285.20 per ounce.

"Rising risk appetite among market participants is reflected in the rising stock markets," said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann, adding "today gold just does not seem to be in demand as a safe haven."

"It looks like the $1,300 hurdle seems hard to overcome ... Gold has the potential to cross that mark and to move even higher but not for now."

Global stocks rose to their highest in more than a month after a report suggested progress towards resolving the trade dispute between the United States and China, while the dollar was supported after US Treasury yields rose amid improved risk appetite.

Spot gold is due for a sharp move, as its consolidation within a neutral range of $1,285-$1,299 per ounce is ending, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Autocatalyst metal palladium climbed 1.3 percent to $1,413.50 per ounce, having hit an all-time high of $1,434.50 on Thursday. The metal is on track to rise for a fourth week in its strongest weekly gain since the week ended Sept. 21. It has risen around 12 percent so far this month.

The price of palladium, used mainly in emissions-reducing catalysts for vehicles, is up nearly 70 percent since a low marked in mid-August. Prices for the metal overtook gold for the first time in 16 years early in December.

"This is the eighth consecutive year where palladium is going to be in deficit and there are no signs that it is going to go away," said Dominic Schnider, head of commodities and APAC forex at UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong.

"The question people need to ask here is how long it would take for the car manufacturers to switch to platinum, which is trading around $800."

Holdings in palladium exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracked by Reuters have nearly halved from January last year as people took delivery and sold or gave the metal for lease due to insufficient supplies, analysts said.

In other metals, platinum rose 0.3 percent to $807 per ounce, while silver fell 0.3 percent to $15.47.