Investing.com - Gold prices were higher in European morning trade on Tuesday, adding to the prior session's gains amid uncertainty over the outlook for U.S policy after President Donald Trump introduced immigration curbs that sparked criticism at home and abroad.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $5.85, or around 0.5%, to $1,201.95 a troy ounce by 3:25AM ET (08:25GMT), after adding $4.90, or about 0.4%, a day earlier.
Market sentiment was bruised after Trump suspended travel to the United States from Syria, Iraq, Iran and four other Muslim-majority countries on Friday, saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks.
The executive order led to huge protests in many U.S. cities and sparked global backlash, raising worries about the potentially destabilizing impact of Trump's policies.
Adding to concerns, the president fired acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates after she ordered Justice Department lawyers not to enforce the travel restrictions. Trump named Dana Boente, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to replace Yates, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in a tweet.
Headlines from Washington will most likely continue to dictate market sentiment as traders focus on Trump for further details on his promises of tax reform, infrastructure spending and deregulation as well as trade policies.
Meanwhile, traders were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting on monetary policy starting on Tuesday for further clues on the timing of the next U.S. interest rate hike.
The Fed indicated last month that at least three rate increases were in the offing for 2017. However, traders remained unconvinced. Instead, markets are pricing in just two rate hikes during the course of this year, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.1% at 100.30 in European morning trade, pulling back from the prior session's peak of 100.81.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery inched up 6.6 cents, or 0.4%, to $17.21 a troy ounce.
Meanwhile, platinum tacked on 0.2% to $995.30, while palladium climbed around 1.6% to $749.92 an ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures rose 2.3 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.678 a pound.