Gold edged higher on Thursday, after earlier dropping to a five-week low, as confusion over Greece’s debt negotiations with its European lenders dominated markets, drumming up some safe-haven bids for the metal.
Spot gold fell to $1,216.45 an ounce, its lowest since Jan. 9, before recovering to trade up 0.1 percent at $1,220 by 0326 GMT.
The metal lost 1.2 percent on Wednesday as the dollar hit a three-week peak against a basket of major currencies on weakness in the euro and the yen. “We continue to see a conflicted gold market with the market split between bears and bulls as the US dollar strength improves against global economic issues and safe-haven demand,” said ANZ analyst Victor Thianpiriya. Gold, seen as a safe-haven asset, tends to get a boost during times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Financial markets are under pressure as Eurozone finance ministers were unable to agree with Greece a final statement or a way to continue talks until their next meeting on Monday.