BENGALURU, Aug 07 (Reuters): Gold scaled a six-year peak on Wednesday to within striking distance of $1,500 as investors continued to pile into safe havens to hedge against heightened US-China trade tensions.
Spot gold was up 0.9per cent at $1,487.28 per ounce at 0955 GMT. It rose as much as 1.1per cent to $1,490.84 earlier, its highest since April 2013.
US gold futures climbed 1.0per cent to $1,499.10, after briefly surpassing the $1,500 level for the first time in more than six years.
The world's two-largest economies have been locked in a bitter trade tussle for over an year now, which rapidly escalated last week when US President Donald Trump said he would impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
On Monday, China responded by allowing its currency to weaken past the key 7 per dollar mark, prompting Washington to label Beijing a currency manipulator.
"The escalation in trade tension is the key backdrop supporting gold prices and the other crucial factor is the massive increase in negative yielding debt," said Capital Economics analyst Ross Strachan.
While there is potential for a short-term correction, many market participants are looking to $1,500 as a key pivot, Strachan added.
The 10-year US Treasury yields fell to their lowest since 2016.
On Tuesday, euro zone government bond yields slumped to record lows, while Dutch 30-year and Irish 10-year yields turned negative for the first time on Monday.
