Gold buckles under resilient dollar, equities rally

Gold prices fell on Tuesday, pressured by a resilient dollar and global equities hitting a record high on rising hopes of the US Federal Reserve maintaining an accommodative policy in the near term.

Spot gold fell 0.3 per cent to $1,817.51 per ounce by 654 GMT, while US gold futures were down 0.8 per cent at $1,819.20.

"Many of the fundamentals are still weighing on gold prices ... People are optimistic about the global economic outlook," said Hareesh V, the head of commodity research at Geojit Financial Services.

"Investors are likely to reduce their safe haven assets like gold and reinvest in some risky assets."

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A disappointing US jobs data last week ignited expectations the Fed may delay tapering asset purchases and kept bullion near a 2-1/2-month high, but also drove investors to stock markets.

Aiding the risk-on sentiment was Chinese trade data that showed both exports and imports grew much faster than expected in August.

The dollar index inched up 0.1 per cent, making gold less appealing to those holding other currencies.

Investors are also keeping an eye on the European Central Bank's meeting on Thursday, where it is likely to debate winding back stimulus measures as the euro zone economy roars back to life.

"We've got the two biggest central banks probably moving towards taper, but they're still going to be quite dovish as far as raising interest rates... I continue to think this is what's supporting gold when it drops," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

Some investors view gold as a hedge against inflation that may follow stimulus measures, while lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Silver fell 0.6 per cent to $24.53 per ounce, platinum eased 0.3 per cent to $1,015.55 and palladium inched down 0.1 per cent to $2,407.91.

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