Gold eases after Trump's discharge, weaker dollar cushions decline

GOLD - SINGAPORE. Gold prices dipped on Tuesday, as equities gained following U.S. President Donald Trump's discharge from hospital after treatment for a coronavirus infection, though a softer dollar limited losses.

Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,910.68 per ounce by 0512 GMT. It had hit $1,918.36 on Monday, highest since Sept. 22. Meanwhile, U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at $1,917.

The market is still in a bit of a risk-on mood right now and that's tempering gold, said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp.

Asian stock markets rose to a two-week high after the U.S. president returned to the White House from hospital following treatment for COVID-19 and on rising prospects for a fresh U.S. stimulus package.

However, the severity of Trump's illness has been the subject of intense speculation.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were preparing to continue talks on the new coronavirus relief package again on Tuesday.

Gold was also weighed down by mild profit-booking, analysts said.

Meanwhile, a weaker dollar and progress on fresh stimulus talks limited gold's decline. The dollar index was down 0.1% against rivals making gold cheaper for holders of other currency.

"Given that U.S. dollar index is falling, this will likely support gold prices and cushion the downside," said Margaret Yang, a strategist with DailyFx that covers currency, commodity and index trading.

"Overall trend (in gold) has turned bullish... $1,910 will be a critical support level at the moment."

Among other precious metals, silver fell 0.4% to $24.26 per ounce, palladium dipped 0.5% to $2,350.84, while platinum was down 0.3% at $893.97.