Investing.com - Gold prices headed lower for a second consecutive session in mid-morning trade on Tuesday, hitting a six-month low, as the dollar moved higher and investors waited for appearances from Federal Reserve policymakers to garner clues on the outlook for further rate hikes.
At 11:13AM ET (15:13GMT), gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $5.90, or 0.5%, to $1,263.00 a troy ounce. That was after hittinag an intraday low of $1,256.40, its lowest level since December 18.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, gained 0.26% to 94.19, bouncing back from an overnight low of 93.84, which was the weakest level since June 14.
A stronger greenback makes the dollar-denominated metal more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.
Gold, which is generally sought out as a safe haven store of value in times of political and economic uncertainty, seemed unaffected by the escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and other nations and ended Monday’s session in negative territory.
U.S. President Donald Trump promised Tuesday that his administration was finishing its “study of tariffs on cars from the EU that have long taken advantage of the U.S. in the form of trade barriers and tariffs”.
Trump tweeted, “In the end it will all even out and it won’t take very long!”
On Tuesday’s economic calendar, the Conference Board said its consumer confidence for June fell to 126.4, missing expectations for a smaller decline to 127.6.
Still ahead, both Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic and Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan are scheduled for appearances.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated last week that the case for continued gradual rate hikes remains strong.
Higher interest rates tend to weigh on demand for gold, which doesn’t bear interest, in favor of yield-bearing investments.
In other metals trading, silver futures fell 0.3% at $16.275 a troy ounce by 11:15AM ET (15:15GMT).
Palladium futures gained 0.3% to $938.50 an ounce, while sister metal platinum rose 0.4% at $874.30.