Gold prices edged up in early Asian trade on Tuesday after hitting a two-week high in the previous session, amid political uncertainty over Brexit and as the US dollar remained subdued.
Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at $1,258.12 an ounce at 0057 GMT. The metal had touched its highest since June 26 at $1,265.87 on Monday. US gold futures for August delivery were 0.1 per cent lower at $1,258.70 an ounce.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was steady at 94.028. It fell to its lowest since mid-June in the previous session.
Prime Minister Theresa May's foreign minister and Brexit negotiator Boris Johnson had quit on Monday in protest at her plans to keep close trade ties with the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc, stirring rebellion in her party's ranks.
Britain's ramshackle exit from the EU could damage economic growth in the euro zone, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said.
Germany, China sign pacts
Germany and China had signed a raft of commercial accords worth some €20 billion ($23.5 billion) on Monday, with their leaders reiterating commitments to a multilateral global trade order despite a looming trade war with the United States.
President Donald Trump had suggested on Monday that China might be seeking to derail US efforts aimed at denuclearising North Korea, but said he was confident that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would uphold a pact the two had agreed on last month.
ECB policy stance
The ECB will take a “wait and see” approach to any tightening of monetary policy after it keeps negative rates on hold through the summer of 2019, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny had said on Monday.
The Bank of Japan maintained its upbeat economic assessment for all nine regions of the country but some areas saw companies fret about rising costs from labour shortages, a sign that a tightening job market could constrain business activity.
Speculators raised their net long position in COMEX gold contracts in the week to July 3, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Monday.
SPDR Gold Trust
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund fell 0.18 percent to 800.77 tonnes on Monday. Canadian miner Barrick Gold Corp and China's Shandong Gold had on Monday said they would deepen cooperation beyond their Argentinian joint venture, potentially working together on acquisitions.