Gold prices rose on Wednesday for a fourth straight session to reach a two-week high as US data showing solid home sales but a fall in mortgage applications pushed the dollar to a two-week low. Gains in bullion were limited, however, by a rise in US bond yields to nine-month highs after the Congress passed the country's biggest tax overhaul in decades.
A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, which can stimulate demand, but higher Treasury yields reduce the appeal of non-yielding bullion. Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,265.26 an ounce by 1:53 pm EST (1853 GMT), after rising to $1,267.81, the highest since December 6.
US gold futures settled up 0.4 percent at $1,269.60. Gold has risen by around 2.5 percent from a five-month low of $1,235.92 on December 12, helped by a weakening dollar.
"The price of gold continues to be rangebound between $1,250 and $1,270 as we approach the holiday week," said Walter Pehowich, executive vice president of investment services at Dillon Gage Metals. "Many on Wall Street seem to have flattened out their books and are getting ready for the new year after the Christmas break." Prices are on track to register their narrowest trading range in the last quarter of 2017 than any quarter in a decade.
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York-based SPDR Gold Shares, fell 1 percent over Monday and Tuesday to the lowest level since early September. Among other precious metal prices, palladium gained 0.5 percent to $1,026.97, not far from last week's peak of $1,038, the highest since February 2001.
Spot silver was up 0.3 percent at $16.17 an ounce, while platinum was 0.2 percent higher at $915.74 an ounce, after both rose to 2-1/2-week highs.
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