Gold prices touched a one-week high on Wednesday, as the dollar fell to two-week lows and as a host of geopolitical factors stoked demand for the safe-haven metal. Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,344.16 an ounce as of 0704 GMT, its fourth straight session of gains. Prices earlier hit a one-week high of $1,345.35 an ounce. US gold futures gained 0.2 percent at $1,348 an ounce.
"Lots of things are happening at the same time - the (US-China) trade war, a possible US attack on Syria that navigates to conflict between the United States and Russia, and that has a very strong impact on gold markets," said Yuichi Ikemizu, Tokyo branch manager at CIBC Standard Bank. Russia and the United States tangled on Tuesday at the United Nations over the use of chemical weapons in Syria as Washington and its allies considered whether to strike at President Bashar al-Assad's forces over a suspected poison gas attack last weekend.
"Dollar price movements and political developments are driving markets right now, including gold," said Jordan Eliseo, chief economist at gold trader ABC Bullion. Spot gold may retest a resistance at $1,354 per ounce, said Reuters' technical analyst Wang Tao.