Investing.com - Gold futures turned modestly lower on Tuesday, as a broadly stronger U.S. dollar prompted investors to cash out of the market and lock in gains from a recent rally that took prices to a one-week high earlier in the session.
Gold prices rallied nearly 7% in the four sessions including Tuesday, since touching a 34-month low of USD1,180.35 a troy ounce on June 28.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,252.55 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.25% on the day.
Comex gold prices rose by as much as 0.9% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD1,266.55 a troy ounce, the strongest level since June 26.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,180.35 a troy ounce, Friday’s low and a 34-month low and near-term resistance at USD1,276.05, the high from June 26.
The U.S. dollar strengthened across the board as renewed concerns over the handling of financial troubles in peripheral euro zone countries weighed on market sentiment.
Euro zone officials said earlier in the day that Greece has three days to reach an agreement with its troika of lenders, in order to secure the next tranche of its bailout funding at a meeting of the eurogroup of finance ministers next week.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar resigned late Monday, after recent figures indicated that the country’s budget deficit widened in the first quarter.
The yield on Portugal’s 10-year government bond rose to 6.51% on Tuesday, from 6.4% on Monday.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.55% to trade at 83.66, the highest level since May 30.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Gold traders now looked ahead to Friday’s highly-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for indications of how the recovery in the U.S. labor market is progressing.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months.
The precious metal declined nearly 23% in the second quarter, the largest quarterly loss on record, amid speculation the Fed will start to unwind its bond purchasing program in the coming months.
Gold prices are on track to post a loss of almost 26% on the year, the worst yearly decline since 1981, after rising in each of the past 12 years.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery shed 0.3% to trade at USD19.51 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 0.5% to trade at USD3.142 a pound.
The industrial metal rallied more than 3% on Monday to hit a two-week high after upbeat manufacturing data out of Europe and the U.S. helped ease concerns over the global economic outlook.
Gold prices rallied nearly 7% in the four sessions including Tuesday, since touching a 34-month low of USD1,180.35 a troy ounce on June 28.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,252.55 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.25% on the day.
Comex gold prices rose by as much as 0.9% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD1,266.55 a troy ounce, the strongest level since June 26.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,180.35 a troy ounce, Friday’s low and a 34-month low and near-term resistance at USD1,276.05, the high from June 26.
The U.S. dollar strengthened across the board as renewed concerns over the handling of financial troubles in peripheral euro zone countries weighed on market sentiment.
Euro zone officials said earlier in the day that Greece has three days to reach an agreement with its troika of lenders, in order to secure the next tranche of its bailout funding at a meeting of the eurogroup of finance ministers next week.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar resigned late Monday, after recent figures indicated that the country’s budget deficit widened in the first quarter.
The yield on Portugal’s 10-year government bond rose to 6.51% on Tuesday, from 6.4% on Monday.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.55% to trade at 83.66, the highest level since May 30.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Gold traders now looked ahead to Friday’s highly-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for indications of how the recovery in the U.S. labor market is progressing.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months.
The precious metal declined nearly 23% in the second quarter, the largest quarterly loss on record, amid speculation the Fed will start to unwind its bond purchasing program in the coming months.
Gold prices are on track to post a loss of almost 26% on the year, the worst yearly decline since 1981, after rising in each of the past 12 years.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery shed 0.3% to trade at USD19.51 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 0.5% to trade at USD3.142 a pound.
The industrial metal rallied more than 3% on Monday to hit a two-week high after upbeat manufacturing data out of Europe and the U.S. helped ease concerns over the global economic outlook.