Investing.com - Gold prices slipped on Wednesday in Asia as the dollar rebounded following a plunge on Wall Street overnight.
Gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange traded 0.5% lower at $1,240.20 a troy ounce by 1:24 AM ET (05:24 GMT).
The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies edged up 0.2% to 97.072. The safe-haven dollar gained after U.S. stocks slumped over 3% overnight.
The plunge in U.S. stocks came after top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow backtracked from U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that Beijing had agreed to reduce tariffs on U.S.-made cars.
“It hasn’t been signed and sealed and delivered yet,” Kudlow said on Fox News Tuesday.
The dollar rose to the highest levels of the year in early November boosted by expectations for a faster pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve as the U.S. economy remained robust.
But the U.S. currency has come under pressure since comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell last week were interpreted by markets as an indication that the central bank could slow its program of rate hikes.
The Fed is widely expected to raise rates at its upcoming Dec. 18-19 meeting and has indicated that it could raise rates three times in 2019, but markets are currently pricing in just one rate hike next year.
Gold prices remained near-five-month highs as the greenback struggled in recent weeks.