(Updates prices)
* Silver hits highest level since April 2017
* Platinum jumps 3% to near 4-month peak
* GRAPHIC-Gold in various currencies: http://tmsnrt.rs/1JxbO6Y
By Asha Sistla
Aug 28 (Reuters) - Gold eased on Wednesday as the U.S.
dollar strengthened and as investors locked in profit following
a more than 1% jump in the last session, but uncertainty over
the U.S.-China trade dispute and the global economy kept
safe-haven bullion near a multi-year peak.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.1% to $1,541.20 per ounce at 1:36
p.m. EDT (1736 GMT). On Monday, it touched $1,554.56, its
highest since April 2013.
U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled down 0.2% at $1,549.10 per
ounce.
"We aren't seeing any additional tensions. A lot of the news
- the trade war and economic concerns - has been factored in by
the market over the last few days," said David Meger, director
of metals trading at High Ridge Futures, adding profit-taking
following the rally in response to a firmer dollar was weighing
on gold.
The dollar .DXY rose 0.2%, making gold more expensive for
holders of other currencies, while U.S. stock markets moved into
positive territory.
However, sentiment in wider markets remained fragile due to
a sharper inversion in the U.S. Treasury yield curve, signaling
a possible recession, and the lack of clarity on the U.S.-China
trade front, which kept interest for safe havens intact. USD/
US/
"I do not see this (drop in gold prices) lasting for long as
traders seem to be trying to buy dips in the precious metals
right now and with the yield curve and the U.S. Federal
Reserve's (current stance), expect that dip to be bought up
fairly quickly," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at
RJO Futures.
Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of
holding non-yielding bullion and weigh on the dollar, making
gold cheaper for investors holding other currencies.
Federal funds futures implied traders saw a 91% chance of a
25-basis-point rate cut by the U.S. central bank next month, and
a 100-basis-point cut within 2020.
Markets also kept a close eye on Britain's planned exit from
the European Union, with concerns of a hard Brexit heightened
after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will suspend
parliament for more than a month before Brexit. Elsewhere, spot silver XAG= rose 1.2% to $18.38 per ounce,
hitting its highest level since April 2017.
"There is not much at present to suggest that the demand
for gold and silver might abate," Commerzbank analysts wrote in
a note.
Spot platinum XPT= rose 4.8% to $907 per ounce, its
highest since April 22, while palladium XPD= fell 0.8% to
$1,469.60 per ounce.
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Gold and silver spot price performance in 2019 png https://tmsnrt.rs/2NAIwe3
Gold and silver spot price performance in 2019 interactive https://tmsnrt.rs/2NAUc0d
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