· Gold futures settled lower on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar firmed in late trade, helping to erase a slight advance for the dollar-sensitive commodity earlier in the day.
· December gold GCZ7, +0.51% was $2.10, or 0.2%, lower at $1,262.60 an ounce and has traded mixed over two days so far this week.
· The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.06% a gauge of the buck against a half-dozen currency rivals, pivoted higher late morning in New York after an upbeat report on employment. So-called JOLTS data, which measures monthly job openings, came in at 6.163 million in June, exceeding both the expected 5.6 million and last month’s 5.702 million. The dollar index was up about 0.2% at gold’s closing.
· The report, along with a better-than-expected labor reading last Friday, was seen by some commodity investors as keeping intact the Federal Reserve’s plan to raise interest rates at least once more in 2017.
· Meanwhile, September silver SIU7, +0.65% which benefits from its dual role as a precious metal and an industrial commodity, added 13.8 cents, or 0.8%, to close at $16.389 an ounce, ending a four-session slide.
· Tuesday’s moves for metals comes amid heightened geopolitical risk, headlined by rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea over the latter’s nuclear aspirations. U.S. intelligence reports said Tuesday that North Korea had successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead meant to fit inside the missiles that it has tested.
· Demand for safe haven assets picked up following the statement from North Korea. The yen firmed slightly against the dollar, with the currency trading 110.10 to the dollar at 8:06 a.m. HK/SIN. The greenback had fetched as much as 110.37 yen earlier in the session.
· Gold prices were also slightly higher. Spot gold traded at $1,263.20 an ounce at 8:32 a.m. HK/SIN compared to levels around $1,261 an ounce in the previous session. The yellow metal had earlier declined when the dollar firmed overnight.
Reference: Market Watch, CNBC
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