Precious metals gained on Tuesday morning in Europe, reversing some of the previous session's losses, despite a firming of the US dollar.
The
price of gold continued to trade in a narrow range with little to push
it above the key level of $US1,200.
Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $US1,196.60 a troy ounce in morning European trade.
Spot silver was up 0.7 per cent at $US16.000 an ounce, spot platinum was up 0.6 per cent at $US1,155.40 an ounce, and spot palladium was up 0.4 per cent at $US775.40 an ounce.
Unless there is a shift in broader financial markets, there's little scope for the metals to make any major breakouts, analysts say.
"We
remain more bullish for the [platinum group metals] than for bullion,
but gold could well spring into action should equities get jitterier, or
the situation in Greece deteriorates," said William Adams, head of
research at FastMarkets.
Precious metals have run into
resistance whenever they advance, with silver looking the weakest of the
bunch, he said. The gold price is settling in the lower ranges of late, as is
platinum, while palladium is holding up relatively well, according to him.
UBS
said that after a volatile first quarter, "gold appears to be taking a
break for now," with trading confined to a narrow range of about $US25
in the last few weeks. "The reality is that there are hardly any
catalysts out there to encourage gold to break out in either direction,"
it said.
The one big issue on the horizon is the likely first
interest rate rise by the US Federal Reserve, which could put investors
off buying gold.
A Fed that's fighting inflation isn't positive for the yellow metal. While that's a well-known danger, said UBS, "overall uncertainty on the timing and pace of Fed tightening" adds to investors' reluctance to make any decisive bets.
