Investing.com - Gold prices edged up and traded near a more than six-month high on Thursday in Asia amid concerns on a global economic slowdown and volatility in stock markets.
Gold Futures for February delivery gained 0.6% to $1,291.85 at 1:34 AM ET (06:34 GMT) on the Comex exchange.
On Wednesday, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) lowered its forecast to $84 billion in revenue for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 29, underperforming analysts’ expectations of $91.5 billion.
The company initially forecasted revenue of between $89 billion and $93 billion.
Asian stocks traded mostly lower following the news, with Apple’s Asia-listed suppliers underperforming their regional peers.
Safe-haven assets including gold and the Japanese yen, on the other hand, received some support.
The U.S. dollar fell as much as 3% against the yen overnight.
Adding to fears of a global economic slowdown, data this week showed factory activity weakened in December across Asia, especially in China.
On Wednesday, China reported that the Caixin Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.7 in December from 50.2 last month, marking the first contraction since May 2017.
A reading below 50 signals contraction.
The reading confirmed a trend seen in the official PMI that was reported on Monday, which showed a drop to 49.4 in December.
The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies slipped 0.2% to 96.155.
Meanwhile, a softer dollar makes U.S. dollar-denominated bullion cheaper for investors holding other currencies.
"The weaker dollar lent some support for gold. People are more interested in gold as the stock markets are under pressure and are looking at gold as a safe haven," said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong.