IonQ partners with Emergence Quantum to expand APAC presence
* Markets await European and U.S. manufacturing numbers
* SPDR Gold Trust holdings decline 0.13% on Wednesday
(Updates prices, adds comment, detail)
By Diptendu Lahiri
Oct 24 (Reuters) - Gold inched down on Thursday as investors
awaited clarity on Brexit after the European Union delayed a
decision on granting Britain an extension, while a weaker dollar
provided a floor under prices.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.2% to $1,488.58 per ounce as of 0725
GMT. U.S. gold futures GCcv1 lost 0.3% at $1,491.30 per ounce.
With EU members delaying their decision on whether to give
Britain a three-month Brexit extension, Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said if the deadline was deferred until the end of
January he would call an election by Christmas. "Even if Brexit goes through, there are enough geopolitical
uncertainties to keep gold supported for the next two to three
years," said Hareesh V, head of commodity research at Geojit
Financial Services.
"The dollar (index) has corrected from the 99.5 level to
97.2 on a continuous basis for the last two weeks. That is
providing some support to prices," he said.
The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback
against a basket of other currencies, was down 0.1% at 97.396,
on track for its second straight session of losses.
Markets have been volatile for months due to geopolitical
uncertainties such as the U.S.-China trade war, Brexit, Hong
Kong protests and tensions in the Middle East.
Non-yielding bullion is often seen as a safer investment
during political and financial turmoil.
OANDA analyst Jeffrey Halley pointed to a lot of stale long
positions and said a breakdown through $1,460.00 was likely to
prompt more long-term holders to unwind positions to lock in
profit.
Market participants await European and U.S. manufacturing
data due on Thursday to gauge the health of the global economy,
and a European Central Bank meeting, with no policy change
expected at President Mario Draghi's last at the helm.
Investors also await the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting on
Oct. 29 and 30, at which it is expected to cut its benchmark
interest rate.
Asian shares pulled ahead as corporate earnings and a
ceasefire in northern Syria helped lift sentiment, though the
U.S.-China trade spat and Brexit prevented a decisive shift
towards riskier assets. MKTS/GLOB
SPDR Gold Trust GLD , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.13% to 918.48
tonnes on Wednesday from 919.66 tonnes on Tuesday. GOL/ETF
Silver XAG= fell 0.4% to $17.49 per ounce. Platinum XPT=
was up 0.6% at $920.74 per ounce after scaling a more than
three-week high, while palladium XPD= rose 0.6% to $1,752.53
per ounce.