Investing.com – Gold prices were little changed on Wednesday as the dollar held on to gains after climbing to a fresh new high this year on Monday.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was unchanged at $1,290.0 a troy ounce by 12:30AM ET (04:30 GMT).
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies last stood at 93.62, up 0.12% on Monday, the greenback climbed to another fresh high this year at 93.91, testing the 94 level.
Investors now turn their attention to the Federal Reserve’s minutes that will come on Thursday in Asia to look for cues for rate hikes.
The dollar was also supported by the continued rise of U.S. 10-year Treasury yields that hit 3% recently and expectations for interest rates.
Dollar-denominated assets such as gold are sensitive to moves in the dollar – a gain in the dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency and thus decreases demand for the precious metal.
Although not a major directional driver, geopolitical tension was in focus as U.S. President Donald Trump casted doubt on the upcoming historic summit with North Korea in June.
“There’s a chance, a very substantial chance, it won’t work out,” Trump said during a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday. “I don’t want to waste a lot of time and I’m sure he doesn’t want to waste a lot of time. So there’s a very substantial chance it won’t work out and that’s OK. That doesn’t mean it won’t work out over a period of time.”
In other precious metal trade, silver futures slipped 0.03% to $16.570 a troy ounce, and platinum futures slipped 0.13% to $906.20 an ounce.