Gold futures traded modestly higher on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar lost ground and as government bonds in the U.S. and Europe tumbled, spurring a modicum of safe-haven demand.
Gold for June delivery on Comex GCM5, +0.67% rose $10, or 0.8%, to $1,193 an ounce, while July silver SIN5, +0.50% advanced 10.1 cents, or 0.6%, to $16.415 an ounce.
European government bond prices continued to retreat, pushing up yields, with U.S. Treasurys following suit. The yield on the 10-year Treasury TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.24% traded above 2.33%, its highest level since November.
Rising bonds yields are typically negative for gold, with commodities that produce no yield suffering by comparison.
But the bond market selloff has spilled over to cause weakness in world stock markets, wrote Jim Wyckoff, analyst at Kitco Metals.
Indeed, stock-index futures traded lower, with the Dow industrials on track to open with a triple-digit loss.
The dollar was also lower, with the ICE dollar index DXY, -0.67% a measure of the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, down 0.6%. A weaker dollar can be a positive for gold and other commodities priced in the U.S. unit as it makes them cheaper to users of other currencies.
In other metals trade, July platinum PLN5, +0.44% rose $10, or 0.9%, to $1,137.30 an ounce, while June palladium PAM5, +0.11% rose $5.30, or 0.7%, to $785.75 an ounce.
July copper HGN5, +1.10% rose 2.9 cents, or 1%, to $2.932 a pound.
Source: MarketWatch
