US gold futures drifted lower early Tuesday in lacklustre trade as the dollar held firm during a holiday-shortened week, dealers said. Gold stuck to a recent $440 to $445 range, guided by a few market players who squared up positions in front of year-end. "The dollar is starting to recover just a touch and gold is a bit lower," said Frank Aburto at F.C. Stone. Gold often fades moves in the dollar as investors use it an alternative to the US currency.
At 10:07 am EST (1517 GMT), February delivery gold at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange shed $1.20 to stand at $442.40 an ounce, dealing from $444.80 to $441.70. Estimated volume by 9:00 am was a paltry 5,000 lots.
Financial markets barely reacted to news that 22 people were killed and 50 were wounded in a blast at a US military base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday.
Gold has seen increased investor interest amid heightened geopolitical worries as well as economic uncertainty related to high energy prices and a weak dollar
Technicians pegged support in COMEX February gold at $437 and $432.90 and resistance at $444.40 and $448.20.
Futures reached a 16-year high on December 2 at $458.70.
Spot gold touched $440.80/1.60, versus the previous New York close at $441.90/2.70. Tuesday's early London fix was at $441.85.
March silver dipped 1.5 cents to $6.85 an ounce, trading $6.90 to $6.84. Spot silver was worth $6.79/82, versus $6.79/83 previously. The fix was $6.85.
March palladium was down 30 cents at $184 an ounce. Monday it hit a contract low of $170.60, the metal's cheapest price since August 2003, on worries over high supply and low demand. Spot palladium touched $179/184. January platinum lost 30 cents to $842.50 an ounce. Spot fetched $840/845.