Gold Holds Near $4,000 After China Ends Tax Break for Retailers

Gold hovered around $4,000 an ounce as traders assessed an end to China’s long-standing tax rebate for some retailers that could weigh on demand in one of the world’s largest precious-metals markets.

Bullion for immediate delivery was little-changed during US hours after earlier falling as much as 1%. Beijing announced Saturday that it would no longer allow some retailers to offset a value-added tax fully when selling gold they bought from the Shanghai Gold Exchange and Shanghai Futures Exchange. The news sent Chinese gold jewelry stocks tumbling.

Under the new policy, companies producing so-called ...