Investing.com - Gold prices dipped in Asia on Tuesday with the dual combination of a stronger dollar and rising expectations of a Fed rate hike by the end of the year keeping sentiment downbeat.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.07% to $1,262.85 a troy ounce. Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery eased 0.18% to $17.572 a troy ounce. Copper futures for December delivery were quoted flat at $2.095 a pound.
Overnight, gold prices faced selling as expectations rose for a Fed rate hike by the end of the year. Investors currently price a 73.6% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's December meeting, according to federal funds futures tracked on 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, rose 0.16% to 98.80.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.
But prices continued to be underpinned by expectations of increased seasonal demand from India as the festival season, when buying gold is considered auspicious, gets underway at the end of the month.
India and China are the largest physical buyers of the precious metal.