• Gold prices held steady near seven-week highs early Tuesday, after registering their biggest monthly gain in five in July, supported by a slump in the U.S. dollar and political uncertainty.
Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,269.30 per ounce at 0358 GMT. It rose 2.2 percent last month, its biggest monthly gain since February.
• The dollar inched up but still hovered near a 2-1/2 year low versus the euro on Tuesday. Its outlook remained clouded by U.S. political turmoil and doubts about whether there will be another Federal Reserve rate hike this year.
• "A weaker U.S. dollar continues to help precious metals to shine," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA. "To this, we can add U.S./Russia relations, North Korea, Venezuela and the revolving door at the White House to the mix, all of which will also be supportive of gold as a safe haven."
Tensions simmered in the U.S. as Russia retaliated to new sanctions and as North Korea continued to pose a threat to the country after it said on Saturday it had conducted another successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile
• Investors are also looking ahead to the U.S. non-farm payrolls data later this week and how that will affect the dollar, according to Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
• Spot gold is poised to break a resistance at $1,271 per ounce and rise towards the next resistance at $1,277, driven by a strong wave C, according to Reuters technical analyst, Wang Tao.
• In other precious metals, silver 0.3 percent to $16.84 per ounce. It hit an over one-month high in the previous session and rose 1.3 percent in July.
Reference: Reuters
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