· Gold prices rose on Thursday as the dollar declined due to concerns the prolonged U.S. government shutdown will limit economic growth at the same time when global growth is slowing as well.

Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,283.31 per ounce, as of 0326 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.1 percent at $1,282.60 per ounce.

· "We are seeing a weaker U.S. dollar for the moment, which is in general supportive for gold," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets said.

However, McCarthy cautioned that bullion price gains are limited by slowing investor buying as indicated by price charts used by technical traders.

"The issue for gold is there is a very heavy resistance seen around $1,290 and $1,310. A further weakening of the U.S. dollar could be supportive. But, we need something to really push gold through the resistance level," he said.

· The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell for third day, dropping 0.3 percent during that period. However, Asian shares rose on Thursday after Wall Street managed to end higher.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States was doing well in trade talks with China, saying at a White House event that China "very much wants to make a deal."

However, a prolonged U.S. government shutdown reminded investors of risks to growth to the economy.

· White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in a CNN interview the U.S. economy could see zero growth in the first three months if the partial government shutdown lasts for the whole quarter.

· Meanwhile, investor focus turned to the European Central Bank (ECB), which is widely expected to keep its monetary policy unchanged at its first policy meeting of 2019 that ends later on Thursday.

Market watchers also expect ECB to acknowledge growing threats to the euro zone economy.

· "The ongoing trade war, Brexit and slow global growth narrative are supportive for gold at present levels, as is Chinese seasonal demand," MKS PAMP Group said in a research note.

"That being said, Comex non-commercial and exchange-traded fund (ETF) holdings remain extended, so we expect a bit of tug of war in the short-term between $1,270-$1,300."

· Gold will hit $1,500 an ounce in 2019, according to Metalla Royalty & Streaming director E.B. Tucker, who is not shying away from his bullish call this year.

“We made a big call for gold this year and a lot of people have asked me about that $1,500 call, but no one has asked me how we came up with it,” Tucker told Kitco News on the sidelines of the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference.

Right now, gold is at a bottom, which means that it is not about “if” it is going to go up, but “when” it is going up, Tucker explained.

“Gold is a commodity, so you see these cycles running that run in the commodity business. They go to highs, they go to lows. And everybody gets scared at the lows and get euphoric at the highs. And we are definitely at a low and that’s where we came up with that call. So far we are up $75-$80, we are right,” he said.

· Next week the Federal Reserve will hold its first monetary policy meeting of the year and gold could benefit no matter what action the central bank takes, according to one gold market analyst.

In a recent commentary, Joe Foster, portfolio manager and strategist for VanEck’s gold and precious metals strategy, said that he sees two scenarios playing out next week.

The first is where the U.S. central bank maintains its hawkish stance, which could potentially drive the U.S. economy into a recession.

“This may bring increased financial risks from highly-indebted governments and corporates,” he said.

The second scenario is where the Federal Reserve takes a dovish stance and pauses its monetary policy tightening.

“This would likely bring U.S. dollar weakness,” he said. “Both scenarios would be favorable for gold.”

· Economic collapse is coming and gold will trade over $5,000, maintained one CEO of a leading provider of alternative investment strategies, who is bullish on the yellow metal.

Analysts see an economic crisis approach from miles away, Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff told Kitco’s Daniela Cambone on the sidelines of the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC).

“Nobody can come out and say we are headed for an economic crisis and that crisis hits tomorrow. You see trends that are building, you see a problem forming well in advance,” Schiff said.

Signs that something bad is on the horizon have been here for some time, Schiff clarified.

One of the most-talked-about issues of the new year is the partial U.S. government shutdown, which Schiff described as a distraction.

At the end of the day, the winner here will be gold, Schiff pointed out, explaining that is is refreshing to see more people embracing the metal lately.

“It makes sense that some people are finally looking at [gold]. More people should be looking at it. Ultimately, that is going to happen as the price of gold moves higher. More importantly though, as the problems begin to manifest themselves in a way that hurts investors and inflation starts to take a toll on a real value of people’s savings, more and more people are going to wake up to the benefits of owning gold,” he said.

· Among other metals, palladium, which hit a record high of $1,434.50 an ounce last week on low inventories and rising demand, rose 0.1 percent to$1,348.50 an ounce.

Silver was down 0.1 percent $15.35 an ounce, while platinum was steady at $795.

Reference: Reuters, Daily FX