Gold prices came under pressure on Wednesday as news that the Trump administration has plans to propose higher tariffs on Chinese goods stoked demand for the US dollar.

The dollar edged up against the yuan and growth-leveraged currencies after a source had said on Tuesday that the White House was about to propose a 25 per cent tariff on $200 billion of imported Chinese goods after initially setting them at 10 per cent, sparking a new round of trade hostilities in the US-China tariff spat.

A stronger dollar makes greenback-denominated gold more expensive for the holders of other currencies. Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,221.78 an ounce at 0353 GMT, after gaining slightly in the previous session. US gold futures were about 0.2 per cent lower at $1,221.90 an ounce.

The slight uptick in gold prices last night came from safe-haven demand, but the weakness this morning is really predicated on the dollar, OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan said.

“The trade tensions are also fuelling safe-haven flows into the dollar. The greenback still appears to be the preferred safe haven rather than gold,” Gan said.

Asian stocks rose in early trade on a report that the United States and China were seeking to resume talks to defuse trade tariff issues, before paring gains. Meanwhile, investors waited for the outcome of a two-day US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting for outlook on interest rates.

The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged, but solid economic growth combined with rising inflation are likely to keep it on track for another two hikes this year even as President Donald Trump has ramped up criticism of its push to raise rates.

“Tonight's FOMC will likely be watched for cues and comments from Fed officials on future rate hikes and monetary policy stance for the rest of the year,” Gan said.

Higher U. interest rates tend to boost the dollar and pressure gold. Spot gold looks neutral in a range of $1,214-$1,226 per ounce, Reuters technicals analyst Wang Tao said.

In other precious metals, silver fell 0.2 per cent to $15.48 an ounce. Platinum and palladium were both 0.1 per cent higher at $835.50 an ounce and $930.60 an ounce, respectively.

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