Investing.com - Gold prices were sharply higher in North American morning trade on Tuesday, extending overnight gains as the dollar sank amid uncertainty over President Donald Trump's policies.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped by more than 1% to a session high of $1,208.75 a troy ounce, a level not seen since January 25.
It was last at $1,206.75 by 8:40AM ET (13:40GMT), up $9.50, or around 0.8%, after adding $4.90, or about 0.4%, a day earlier.
Trump's immigration ban continued to rattle financial markets as the president dismissed acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates late Monday after she ordered Justice Department lawyers not to enforce the travel restrictions.
The president will remain in focus on Tuesday as he plans to announce his nomination to the Supreme Court later in the day, a move likely to dominate headlines and perhaps delay the presentation of further details on spending policies.
Meanwhile, the dollar sank back toward and eight-week low against a basket of major currencies after Peter Navarro, Trump’s top trade adviser, accused Germany of currency exploitation.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.4% at 100.01.
Traders were now looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting on monetary policy starting on Tuesday for further clues on the timing of the next U.S. interest rate hike.
The Fed indicated last month that at least three rate increases were in the offing for 2017. However, traders remained unconvinced. Instead, markets are pricing in just two rate hikes during the course of this year, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery surged 31.0 cents, or 1.8%, to $17.46 a troy ounce after touching $17.52, the most since November 11.
Meanwhile, platinum tacked on 0.3% to $996.20, while palladium climbed around 2.3% to $755.30 an ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures rose 5.4 cents, or 2%, to $2.709 a pound.