Investing.com -- Prices for gold futures fell precipitously on Tuesday, as the U.S. Dollar Index reached its highest level in more than 11 years.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery fell $5.00 or 0.41% to $1,203.20 a troy ounce, as future prices wavered on a see-saw day of trading.
Prices fell below a seven-week low of $1,195 an ounce during European trading, before rebounding to near $1,215 during early trading on U.S. markets. Gold prices then plunged shortly ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's address in front of Congress, before remaining steady during the Israeli prime minister's speech.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,190.00, the low from February 24, and resistance at $1,223.00, the high from March 2.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six other major currencies, reached an 11-year high of 95.59 in midday trading before falling slightly back to 95.42. The index had not reached such a level since September, 2003.
Gold is viewed as a safe haven or an alternative for a weaker dollar.
In China, premiums on the Shanghai Gold Exchange remained $5 per ounce above international gold prices. Chinese premiums are viewed as the key incentive for wholesale imports.
Earlier this week, China cut its benchmark interest rate for the second time in less than four months.
The SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to 769.49 tons on Tuesday from its prior close of 771.25 tons.
Trading volume remained low on Tuesday, as investors awaited the start of a two-day meeting of European Central Bank policymakers on Wednesday in Cyprus and the release of critical U.S. employment data on Friday.
Analysts have forecasted that the U.S. economy added approximately 240,000 jobs for the month of February, down from a gain of 257,000 a month earlier. Analysts also expect that the unemployment rate for the month slightly declined from 5.7% in January to 5.6%.
Meanwhile, silver futures for May delivery dropped 0.233 or 1.42% to trade at $16.22 a troy ounce. On Monday, silver fell 10.7 cents, or 0.65%, to close at $16.45.
Elsewhere on the Comex, copper for May delivery fell 4.5 cents, or 1.67%, to trade at $2.653. On Monday, copper reached a seven-week high of $2.716, as China cut interest rates in an effort to fight off deflation.