Gold this week dipped to around $1,700 an ounce, and rising equity markets “have stunted gold’s upward momentum,” said Standard Chartered. However, the metal was up $12.60 to $1,713.40 an ounce as of 11:40 a.m. EDT after dipping below $1,700 on Thursday. “Risk appetite continues to set the tone for gold trading,” Standard Chartered said. “Equity-market performance, USD [U.S. dollar] weakness, U.S. Treasury yields and interest-rate expectations remain key in the near term….Gold has been pulled between economies reopening, [COVID-19] vaccine developments, concerns over a second wave of infections, and trade and geopolitical tensions.” For now, Standard Chartered said, prices may run into headwinds in the near term due to weaker-than-expected physical demand during the seasonally slow period. “We expect prices to average $1,700/oz in Q3 2020, but beyond near-term weakness, price risk remains skewed to the upside.”