Gold extended its gains for a third straight session on Wednesday as worries in the market continued to spark haven demand on bullion.
The precious metal hit a high of $1085.57 an ounce, while currently trading around 1083.38, compared to the session’s opening at $1077.01.
Most Asian shares resumed drop on persisting concerns from China after the ongoing drop in the yuan and ease in the services’ sector growth.
The offshore yuan fell to the lowest level since October 2010 versus the green currency, raising predictions Beijing is devaluating its currency to boost growth.
A report from released on Wednesday showed that China’s services sector grew at the slowest level in 17 months in December.
North Korea added to tensions by confirming its conduction of a nuclear test, pushing most Asian shares lower.
While the rally in the U.S. dollar weighed on oil, it failed to affect gold that benefited from haven demand.
The yen continued to be the favorite for worries investors, where it rose to the highest level versus the U.S. dollar since mid-October.
Later in the day, investors will focus on U.S. ADP employment, which is mainly carefully watched ahead of Friday’s NFP report.
Eyes will also focus on Fed minutes for December’s policy meeting, searching for clues about the path of the upcoming interest rate hikes.
