Investing.com - Gold prices drifted lower on Wednesday, briefly falling below the key $1,200-level, as investors awaited further developments in the ongoing trade spat between the U.S. and its major trading partners.
Comex gold futures were down around 20 cents at $1,202.00 a troy ounce by 10:20AM ET (1520GMT).
Meanwhile, spot gold was trading at $1,196.64 per ounce. It touched its lowest since Aug. 24 at $1,187.21 on Tuesday.
Investors remained focused on the U.S.- China trade dispute amid fears that an escalation could be imminent.
China will ask the World Trade Organization next week for permission to impose sanctions on the U.S. for Washington's non-compliance with a ruling in a dispute over U.S. dumping duties.
This comes after President Donald Trump announced last Friday that there could more trade tariffs against Beijing totaling $267 billion, on top the already $200 billion in tariffs previously announced.
Investors have shunned the precious metal despite an escalation in global trade tensions, indicating that gold may be losing its safe-haven status. Instead, market players opted to pile in to the U.S. dollar in the belief that the United States has less to lose from the dispute.
In other metals action, silver futures were nearly flat at $14.16 a troy ounce, having hit its lowest since January 2016 at $13.90 in the previous session.
December copper inched up 1.2 cents, or 0.5%, to $2.634 a pound.