PRECIOUS-Gold ticks up on safe‑haven bids; markets eye US-Iran talks

By Noel John

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Gold prices edged up on Thursday as uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy boosted the metal's safe-haven appeal, while investors awaited further details on U.S.-Iran talks later in the day.

Spot gold XAU= was up 0.2% at $5,182.18 per ounce, as of 0942 GMT. Bullion had hit a more-than-three-week high on Tuesday.

U.S. gold futures GCcv1 for April delivery were down 0.5% at $5,198.70.

The U.S. dollar eased, making dollar-denominated commodities more affordable for holders of other currencies. USD/

"Iran-U.S. persisting tensions and the uncertainty surrounding the global economy with (President Donald) Trump's tariffs are a bullish catalyst," said Carlo Alberto De Casa, external analyst at banking group Swissquote.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are due to meet an Iranian delegation for a third round of nuclear talks later in the day in Geneva.

Trump briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, saying he would not allow a country he described as the world's biggest sponsor of terrorism to have a nuclear weapon.

Non-yielding gold is seen as a safe store of value during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

The U.S. tariff rate for some countries will rise to 15% or higher from the newly imposed 10%, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday, without naming any specific trading partners or giving further details.

Gold prices scaled a record high of $5,594.82 on January 29 and were up 20% so far this year.

"The global gold rush does not seem to be over... Overall the sentiment remains positive with strong buys coming from Asia and from central banks," De Casa said.

On the data front, investors await the weekly U.S. jobless claims data, due later in the day.

Spot silver XAG= fell 2.2% to $87.43 per ounce. Spot platinum XPT= was steady at $2,286.44 per ounce, while palladium XPD= shed 1.3% to $1,772.25.