Gold traded sideways in a tight range on Thursday as the dollar held firm near its 2018 peak on strong US bond yields, with investors also keeping an eye out for any further impact from US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran. Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $1,311.82 per ounce by 0714 GMT.
US gold futures for June delivery were 0.1 percent lower at $1,312 per ounce. "This time around I think the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East added some safe-haven appeal to gold," said Helen Lau, analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. "A lot of counteracting forces are playing against gold so that's why it's trading in a very tight range," Lau said, adding that a firm dollar and rising US Treasury yields were capping upside.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.14 percent to 862.95 tonnes on Wednesday. Spot gold looks neutral in a range of $1,302-$1,317 per ounce, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.