Gold rises above $1,200

Singapore
Gold edged above $1,200 an ounce on Thursday after a three-day losing streak as equities weakened, but gains were limited by robust US economic data and strength in the dollar.
Spot gold had ticked up 0.2 percent to $1,201.75 an ounce by 0706 GMT, after losing 1 percent in the last three sessions, as Asian stocks slipped after Wall Street continued to pull back from record highs.
However, with the dollar at an 11-1/2-year peak after strong US data and the technical picture looking weak, analysts expect gold to head lower. The next support for gold currently comes in at $1,195, said technical analysts at ScotiaMocatta. “We expect a further test of this level, and should we see it break, it would be bearish for gold and open a test of the $1,131-low (reached in November 2014),” they said. Gold is on shaky ground on the back of robust US economic data, fears of an interest rate hike in the near future and waning investor sentiment.