Gold dips as stock markets recover, US dollar rises

Gold edged down on Thursday as equities markets recovered, the US dollar strengthened and traders locked in profits after bullion surged past $1,500 to a more than six-year high in the previous session.

Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,498.45 per ounce as of 01:41 p.m. EDT (1741 GMT). US gold futures settled down 0.7% at $1,509.50 per ounce.

The metal has risen more than 16% so far this year, and about $100 over the past week, in a run propelled by trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, falling bond yields and an increasingly dovish shift in policy by global central banks.

"We got a little bit of a relief rally going on in the equities market here ... so, gold futures are pulling back a little bit after an incredible run up," Phillip Streible, senior commodities strategist at RJO Futures, said, adding the bull run in gold is not over and the market is seeing a small correction.

Stock markets enjoyed a tentative recovery on Thursday, as a steadier yuan restored some calm to markets following a stormy few days that sent investors scrambling for safety.

Yields on the 10-year US Treasury note recovered somewhat, rising 6.2 basis points to 1.753%.

Overnight, yields on US 30-year bonds fell as low as 2.123%, not far from a record low of 2.089% set in 2016.

The US dollar was slightly up against a basket of currencies, making greenback-denominated gold costlier for investors holding other currencies.

However, supporting bullion were "expectations that the US Federal Reserve is going to be more aggressive about rate cuts. We have already seen four major central banks cut rates," RJO Futures' Streible said.

On Thursday, the Philippine central bank cut its benchmark lending rates, following similar moves by New Zealand, India and Thailand, among others.

Following the Fed's rate cut last week, interest rates futures suggest traders are betting the central bank will cut rates three more times by the year-end to avert a recession.

On the technical front, spot gold may gain further to $1,524, as it has cleared a resistance at $1,497 per ounce, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Reflecting investors appetite for bullion, holdings in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, have risen 7.3% so far this year.

Silver dipped 0.9% to $16.95 per ounce, after hitting a more than one-year high in the previous session.

Platinum was down 0.1% to $860.81, while palladium rose 0.3% to $1,418.64 an ounce.