Gold edged lower on Tuesday as strong equities provided a risk-conducive backdrop for investors, countering support from Washington's move to end waivers on Iranian oil sanctions. Spot gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,273.18 per ounce as of 0750 GMT. US gold futures shed 0.2 percent to $1,275 an ounce.
"Gold is currently trying to find a short-term bottom around $1,274-1,275 an ounce level, especially as equity markets continue to rally," said Margaret Yang, an analyst with CMC Markets in Singapore. Asian shares were edging towards a nine-month peak touched last week while stocks on Wall Street were near break-even on Monday as the benchmark S&P 500 index was about 1 percent away from the record high hit in September.
Strong equities have dented gold's appeal, with the metal now more than 5 percent below its 2019 peak touched in February. Better-than-expected economic readings from both the United States and China have also assuaged investor concerns of a sharp global economic slowdown.
Markets now eye the release of the US GDP data later in the week, which will provide clear indications about the strength of the world's largest economy. However, heightened geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, with the former terminating all Iranian sanction waivers on Monday, pushed oil prices higher and also supported prices for the metal, Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst with OANDA, said.
Gold is positively correlated to oil as the metal is often seen as a hedge against oil-led inflation. "But, this (oil price rise) is not enough to change the general sentiment surrounding gold. It just seems to be marking time, before other factors like a stronger dollar or equities exert downward pressure on the market," Halley added.
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