Investing.com - Gold prices held steady near three-week highs on Thursday, as uncertainty over a major U.S. tax reform bill continued to weigh on the dollar, while geopolitical tensions lingered.
Comex gold futures were steady at $1,284.22 a troy ounce by 04:30 a.m. ET (08:30 GMT), just off the previous session's nearly three-week highs of $1,287.52.
Sentiment on the greenback was vulnerable as a U.S. Senate tax-cut bill, which differs from one in the House of Representatives, was set to be unveiled later Thursday.
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Senate Republican leaders were thinking of postponing the implementation of major corporate tax cuts to comply with Senate rules.
Traders are concerned over any potential delays in the implementation of the tax cuts or the possibility that proposed reforms end up being less drastic than hoped for.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 94.71.
Gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar. A weaker dollar makes gold less expensive for holders of foreign currency.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after U.S. President Donald Trump addressed tensions with North Korea this week. Speaking in South Korea on Tuesday, Trump said that Pyongyang "has interpreted America's past restraint as weakness" and that "this would be a fatal miscalculation."
The rogue nation responded to Trump's remarks by calling the U.S. President a "lunatic old man" and saying that the U.S. must remove him from power "to get rid of the abyss of doom."
Markets were also jittery as Saudi Arabia continued to conduct an anti-corruption purge among the highest levels of the establishment.
After a first crackdown over the weekend, Saudi authorities said on Wednesday that they had made additional arrests and frozen more bank accounts among the kingdom's political and business elite.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures slid 0.43% to $17.07 a troy ounce.