Gold dipped slightly in quiet trade after touching its highest in nearly four weeks on Tuesday, as a report that Germany could smooth the way for Greece to get a bailout prompted investment in riskier assets. The Wall Street Journal said Germany was considering dropping its push for an early rescheduling of Greek bonds in order to facilitate a new package of aid loans to prevent Athens from defaulting on its debt.
A drop in the dollar did little to whet demand for gold, which usually moves inversely to the US currency, as the improved risk appetite left bullion somewhat sidelined. Spot gold rose to a session high of $1,540.50, its loftiest since May 4, before pulling back to $1,533.80 an ounce by 1:10 p.m. EDT (1710 GMT), down from $1,537.95 late on Monday. June gold futures lost $1.90 at $1,534.40.
"At least to some degree, the sovereign debt issues with Greece and the other peripheral EU countries have been pretty well documented, so it's not necessarily a surprise for the market," HSBC analyst James Steel said. Gold is down 2.3 percent so far in May, hovering below a lifetime high around $1,575 touched early in the month. Although it has been a beneficiary of investor nervousness over Greece, it has struggled to retain gains.
Silver has fallen 20 percent this month, with platinum down nearly 2.5 percent and palladium off almost 2 percent. Gold holdings are down by more than 500,000 ounces this month and down 0.68 percent year-to-date, but bullion ETFs have lured more cash in May than other precious metals.
Silver rose about 1 percent to $38.12 an ounce. Despite the day's gains, silver has fallen more than 20 percent in May - its biggest monthly decline since August 2008 - after setting a record $49.51 in April. Platinum and palladium rose on the day, benefiting from the pick-up in investor appetite for growth-linked assets. Platinum fetched $1,822.74 an ounce from $1,796.35 previously, while palladium rose near 3 percent to $775.25.