By Barani Krishnan
Investing.com - Gold prices rose modestly for a second straight day on Wednesday, extending their slow yet deliberate recovery from a recent downdraft that took the yellow metal to the lower $1900s.
Gold for December delivery on Comex settled New York’s regular trading session up $11.70, or 0.6%, at $1,954.90 per ounce. The benchmark gold futures contract rose 0.5% on Tuesday for its first positive close in five days.
Last week, December gold lost $40, or 2%, after an unexpected surge in the dollar that carried through to Tuesday as the euro weakened ahead of this week’s European Central Bank meeting.
The spot price of gold, which reflects real-time trades in bullion, was at $1,947.48 by 4:30 PM ET (20:30 GMT) Wednesday, showing a gain of $15.74, or 0.8%.
Gold’s rise on Wednesday was also helped by a weaker dollar.
The Dollar Index, which pits the greenback against six major currencies and serves as a contrarian trade to gold and most other commodities, fell 0.2% although it remained above its key 93-handle. The dollar has been trading in a range above 93, ahead of the European Central Bank’s monthly policing meeting on Thursday.
Most analysts don't expect a change in the ECB’s policy, although markets are looking to Europe’s apex bank for a message on inflation forecasts and to determine if the euro had been stronger than thought. The single currency marked a two-year high just above $1.20 at the beginning of the month, until comments about its level from ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane knocked it lower.