Investing.com - Gold prices eased slightly in North American trading on Tuesday, one day after rallying to its strongest level in five months as investors stayed cautious amid fresh political uncertainty in Europe and continued geopolitical tension concerning North Korea.
Comex gold futures shed $5.40, or around 0.4%, to $1,286.50 a troy ounce by 8:50AM ET (12:50GMT). Meanwhile, spot gold was little changed at $1,285.10.
The yellow metal settled higher for the fourth session in a row on Monday after hitting its strongest since early November at $1,297.40.
Also on the Comex, silver dipped 14.4 cents, or about 0.8%, to $18.37 a troy ounce. It touched its highest since November 11 at $18.65 in the previous session.
British Prime Minister Theresa May called on Tuesday for an early election on June 8, saying she needed to strengthen her hand in divorce talks with the European Union by shoring up support for her Brexit plan.
Meanwhile, investors were continuing to monitor political developments ahead of the upcoming French presidential elections as the race tightened after a surge in polls for far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who wants a referendum on the country’s European Union membership.
Markets have long since been anxious about front runner Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front party, who also wants to put the country’s EU membership to a vote and abandon the euro.
Heightened tensions around North Korea, which has vowed to conduct more missile tests following Sunday's failed missile launch, also continued to support safe-haven demand for the yellow metal.
The dollar index, measuring it against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.4% at 99.76 in New York morning trade, the lowest since March 29.
Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was at around at 2.22%, one day after breaking below 2.20% for the first time since November 17.
Elsewhere in metals trading, platinum fell 0.3% to $988.40, while palladium slipped 0.2% to $786.97 an ounce.
May copper futures lost 3.9 cents to $2.557 a pound.