Investing.com - Gold prices dipped slightly in Asia on Tuesday, but remain supported by tensions between Russia and the West over events in the Ukraine.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Gold futures for June delivery traded at $1,287.90 a troy ounce, down 0.05%, afterhitting an overnight session low of $1,282.00 and off a high of $1,301.20.
Overnight, gold prices dipped after a forward-looking U.S. economic indicator came in slightly better than expected and gave the dollar support.
In the U.S. earlier, the Conference Board reported earlier that its index of leading indicators, which measures future economic activity, increased 0.8% in March after a 0.5% rise in February, beating expectations for a 0.7% reading.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index decreased to 0.20 in March from 0.53 in February, in line with expectations.
The numbers reminded investors that even though the timing of rate hikes in the U.S. remains unclear, the Federal Reserve remains on track to continue tapering its monthly bond-purchasing program this year as the economy recovers.
Fed bond purchases, currently standing at $55 billion a month, weaken the dollar by suppressing interest rates, making gold an attractive hedge while such policies remain in effect.
Elsewhere, Japan's March trade deficit widened to ¥1.446 trillion, outpacing a forecast for a ¥1.070 trillion figure.
Exports were up 1.8% on-year, missing a forecast of a 6.3% year-on-year gain and imports rose 18.1%, with expectations for a 16.2% increase.
The data for the full-year ended March showed the country reached a record trade deficit of ¥13.7 trillion.
Soft Japanese trade figures boosted the dollar further, which tarnished gold's appeal on Monday.
Silver for May delivery rose 0.19% at US$19.388 a troy ounce, while copper futures for May delivery were down 0.13% at US$3.041 a pound.