By Sherin Elizabeth Varghese
(Reuters) – Gold prices eased on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar firmed, the metal backing away from a record peak hit in the previous session as a fusion of bullish factors including growing U.S. rate cut bets and geopolitical risks drove safe-haven demand.
Spot gold was down 0.6% at $2,410.73 per ounce, as of 0335 GMT after hitting a record high of $2440.49 on Monday.
U.S. gold futures fell 1% at $2,414.00.
The dollar rose 0.1% making greenback-priced bullion less attractive to buyers holding other currencies. [USD/]
Lower interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty make bullion a favourable investment.
“The market expectations of interest rate cuts starting this year has gone up a bit with the cooling inflation numbers that came in last week and on the other side, geopolitical risks played a major role in pushing gold prices to a fresh record high,” said ANZ commodity strategist Soni Kumari.
“China buying has been exceptional in the first quarter with their bar and coin demand being very strong, recording its highest since 2017 and these factors are offsetting the investment outflows in ETFs (exchange traded funds) and pushing prices higher.”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed when his helicopter crashed in poor weather in mountains near the Azerbaijan border on Sunday.
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting due on Wednesday along with comments from a slew of Fed speakers will be keenly awaited this week.
Spot silver fell 1.5% to $31.35 an ounce after hitting a more than 11-year high in the last session.
“Silver is the beta for gold, investors are attracted to silver because fundamentals are very strong coupled with growing industrial demand and it’s a cheaper alternative to gold,” Kumari said.
Platinum lost 1.1% to $1,035.15, after hitting its highest since May 12, 2023 on Monday. Palladium dropped 1.8% to $1,008.91.
(Reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
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