Investing.com - Gold futures gained some ground on Tuesday, as news of U.S. air strikes on Syria lifted safe-haven demand, altough growing expectations for an early U.S. rate hike continued to weigh.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded at $1,227.20 a troy ounce during early European trade, up 0.76%.
The December contract settled 0.11% higher on Monday to end at $1,217.9 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at $1,208.80 an ounce and resistance at $1,240.50, the high from September 17.
Demand for the precious metal strengthened after the U.S. announced that with five Arab partner nations it had launched airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria for the first time on Monday.
The strikes are part of a military campaign the Obama administration authorized nearly two weeks ago to "degrade, and ultimately destroy" the ISIS fighters.
But gold still remained within close distance of a nine-month low after the Federal Reserve cut its monthly bond-buying program by $10 billion following its two-day policy meeting on September 17, keeping the program on track to finish next month.
While the Fed reiterated that it expects rates to remain on hold for a "considerable time" after its quantitative easing program ends, it also projected a faster pace of rate hikes.
For the end of 2015, the median forecast was 1.375% compared to a June forecast of 1.125%.
The dollar traded near the highest level in more than six years against the yen, while the euro hovered close to 14-month lows, as markets interpreted the Fed's statement as hawkish.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery gained 0.47% to trade at $17.858 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery rose 0.25% to trade at $3.046 a pound.