19.08.202110:20:00UTC+00Gold Edges Higher As Equities Tumble

Gold reversed early declines on Thursday as equities and commodities tumbled on worries about an early tapering by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Spot gold was marginally higher at $1,788.31 per ounce, reversing early declines. U.S. gold futures were up 0.3 percent at $1,790.45.

Bullion prices traded higher despite the dollar hitting a nine-month peak amid a double-whammy of Fed taper fears and COVID worries.

Minutes from the July Federal Reserve meeting, released Wednesday, indicated that most officials agreed to begin the reduction of bond purchases later this year.

Despite some disagreement over the timing of tapering the asset purchases, most participants judged that it could be appropriate to start tapering the bond purchases later this year amid progress towards employment goal and meeting inflation criteria.

While some believe tapering could begin in the "coming months," others felt a reduction in the pace of asset purchases would be more likely to become appropriate next year.

As COVID-19 rages, investors look ahead to the release of U.S. weekly jobless claims figures for the week ended August 14 and leading index for July for clues about the economic outlook.