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By Bloomberg View

Gold failed to hold early gains as Asian stocks fluctuated after China’s latest round of monetary easing. Palladium traded near the lowest in almost five years.

Bullion for immediate delivery retreated as much as 0.5 percent to $1,134.75 an ounce and traded at $1,137.91 at 10:42 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing, erasing an earlier advance of as much as 0.5 percent. The metal closed 1.3 percent lower Tuesday, the biggest decline since July 20.

China’s stocks swung between gains and losses as traders weighed the impact of interest-rate cuts after the steepest four-day equity plunge since 1996. Concern that policy makers are struggling to prevent a hard landing in the world’s second- largest economy has convulsed global markets, triggering a rush from all but the safest of assets. Investor holdings in exchange-traded products backed by gold fell 0.3 percent on Tuesday, snapping four days of gains.

“Confusion in financial markets is to continue in spite of a Chinese interest rate cut, and risk-off continues,” Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nihon Unicom in Tokyo, said in an e-mail.

Volatility in global financial markets is “worrisome” and will hamper the Federal Reserve’s ability to raise interest rates in September, said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz SE. Traders see the likelihood of a U.S. interest rate rise next month at 26 percent, down from odds of 40 percent at the end of July, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The prospect of higher rates makes gold unattractive because the metal doesn’t pay interest.

“It’s a disinflation environment, a low growth environment, negative for commodities,” Justin Smirk, a senior economist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney, said by phone. “I’m still bearish on gold. If the Fed’s not willing to hike because the U.S. economy is weaker and growth is slower, that’s not a bullish environment for gold either.”

Gold futures for December delivery lost 0.2 percent to $1,136.60 an ounce on the Comex after retreating 1.3 percent on Tuesday. Bullion of 99.99 percent purity lost 1 percent to 235.56 yuan a gram ($1,141 an ounce) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Palladium dropped 0.2 percent to $537 an ounce, extending a 6.3 percent plunge on Tuesday to the lowest close since Sept. 21, 2010. Silver for immediate delivery retreated 0.6 percent to $14.6095 an ounce, while platinum was little changed at $977.05 an ounce.