Investing.com - Gold prices rose mildly in Asia on Tuesday with investors awaiting remarks from Fed Chair Janet Yellen this week expected to offer a harder view on a widely expected rate hike next month.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.23% to $1,223.30 a troy ounce.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery inched up 0.07% to $16.932 a troy ounce, while copper futures were quoted flat at $2.518 a pound.
Copper prices have rallied after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump raised the prospect of increased infrastructure spending, while recent signs of strengthening demand in China have also underpinned prices. The metal is regarded as a leading indicator of the global economy. It is used in the construction of buildings, power generation and transmission and the manufacture of consumer electronics.
Overnight, gold prices fell to a more than five-month low on Monday, extending four straight sessions of losses as market players continued to dump the yellow metal in wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.
Gold plunged more than 3% on Friday amid optimism that increased fiscal spending and tax cuts under a Trump administration will spur economic growth and inflation, which would ultimately lead to an era of higher interest rates.
Investors are currently pricing an 85.8% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's December 13-14 meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
The precious metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.
Yellen is due to testify on the economic outlook before the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee on Thursday, while retail sales and inflation data will also be in the spotlight.