Investing.com - Gold prices strained mightily to settle higher, but closed lower for the day as the greenback retreated from a 14-year record.
Gold for February delivery, ended the day down 40 cents, a decrease of less than 0.1%, at $1,133.20 per troy ounce.
The bad news follows yesterday's disappointing outcome when the precious metal endured another decline, a loss of 0.8%.
Gold’s price remains weak as the DJIA plods along, attempting to reach the coveted milestone of 20,000.
The market closed at a record on Tuesday, and the new highs for equities are lessening the appetite for the precious metal, which is viewed as a safe haven.
The commodity has fallen 3.2% thus far this month, hemmed in by a climbing dollar and newly raised interest rates.
Advances for the greenback makes the metal more expensive for other currency owners. Rising yields make it slightly more attractive to invest in assets that pay interest, which gold cannot.
The dollar on Wednesday also lost footing against many of the other major currencies. The ICE Dollar Index, fell 0.3% to 102.97. The index measures the strength of the dollar against a mixed basket of six currencies.
With few trading days left in 2016, gold appears to be headed for a 6% gain for the year, according to market analysts.