• Gold dipped on Tuesday as U.S. Treasury yields rose on an uptick in housing starts for November and even though the dollar fell, a factor that generally supports gold.
• Market players were wary of taking new positions before the holiday season. Gold is on track to post its narrowest trading range of any quarter in a decade in the last three months of the year.
• Spot gold was down 0.04 percent at $1,260.86 an ounce by 1:49 p.m. EST (1849 GMT), earlier hitting a nearly two-week high of $1,265.20, while U.S. gold futures futures for February delivery settled down $1.30, or 0.1 percent, at $1,264.20 per ounce.
• Caution about pending U.S. tax legislation pressured the dollar, traders said. Congress appeared all but certain to pass the bill. World stocks dipped with investors taking profits after recent highs in the tech sector before Republican lawmakers achieve their goal of passage.
• The dollar eased against the euro, as investors were cautious about how much the tax reforms, if passed, would boost the U.S. economy.
• "The (gold) market is trying to move higher ... (as) the euro/dollar is trying to move above $1.18 again," ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said, though she added that moves were still relatively small. "Liquidity is drying up a bit."
• Among other precious metals, silver was down 0.5 percent at $16.05 an ounce, after seeing a two-week high of $16.22.
• Platinum was up 0.8 percent at $914 an ounce, earlier hitting a two-week high of $919.40. The metal has rallied nearly $30 an ounce in the last two trading sessions.
• Palladium was up 0.6 percent at $1,023.95 an ounce.
Reference: Reuters
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