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Gold prices edged up on Tuesday as the dollar hovered around three-year lows, with a surge in global equities capping further gains after a US government shutdown came to a halt.
Gold was mostly unaffected by the shutdown in the previous session, trading in a tight range defined on the low end by safe-haven demand amid the US government closure and on the high end by the resiliency of the wider financial markets.
Spot gold rose 0.2 per cent to $1,336.26 per ounce at 0703 GMT, up for a third straight session. US gold futures for February delivery climbed 0.3 percent to $1,335.70 per ounce.
The US Senate had voted on Monday to pass a temporary spending plan through February 8 to end the government shutdown. Equity markets have since gained, with Wall Street's main indexes surging to record highs.
“Gold can gain from here as there could be some correction in the equity markets and cryptocurrencies have started to fall again. We can see more investors coming into gold, which could be positive for prices,” said Hareesh V., head of commodity research at Geojit Financial Services. “2018 is more or less going to be positive for gold as well as silver.”
Bitcoin prices slump
Bitcoin was down about 5 per cent at $10,293.85 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange. Prices have nearly halved in value from their peak of almost $20,000 in December, with investors gripped by fears regulators could clamp down on the volatile currency.
“Gold should see first support level at overnight low of $1,331 an ounce, with initial resistance expected at the recent highs of $1,343, closely followed by the psychological $1,350 mark,” said MKS PAMP Group trader Tim Brown. “A consolidation above that level could be the signal for a push higher.”
Spot gold looks neutral in a range of $1,329-$1,341 per ounce and an escape could suggest a direction, according to Reuters Technical analyst, Wang Tao.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.1 per cent at 90.511, not far from a three-year low hit last week. Platinum rose 0.2 per cent to $996.60 per ounce, down from a more than four-month high touched in the previous session. In other precious metals, silver rose 0.2 per cent to $17.04 per ounce. Palladium was nearly flat at $1,097.97 per ounce.
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