Prospect of strong USD in long term owing to Fed rate hikes weigh down precious metals.  

Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday after the previous session’s sharp fall, but rising U.S. interest rates and lingering Sino-U.S. trade tensions continued to weigh on the market with investors selling the metal at small rallies.

Spot Gold XAUUSD is trading at 1203.59 up 0.20% on the day as of writing this article after hitting an intra-day high of $1205.89 while US Gold Futures Gccv1 is trading at $1210.20 an ounce down 0.34% on the day. Gol saw steep fall during American market hours on Tuesday as U.S. Treasuries rose after the United States and Mexico struck a trade deal. The selling (on Tuesday) shows nobody wants to chase the metal above $1,210 price handle. Investors and Analysts expect Fed interest rate hikes in September and December, and that is acting as a burden for gold.