US gold futures dropped slightly in choppy trade on Tuesday as a dollar rise prompted bullion investors to lock in profits, but strong technical support should keep the metal from falling further. December gold futures down $1.20 to $992.90 an ounce at 10:47 am EDT (1447 GMT) on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Ranged from $986.10 to $995.00. Gold was pressured as US dollar rallied against the euro and other major currencies, as weaker sentiment in the equities market triggered flight-to-quality buying into the greenback. A stronger dollar and significant outflows in silver exchange-traded funds led to weaker gold, said Tom Pawlicki, precious metals and energy analyst at MF Global.
Potential liquidation due to record level of non-commercial long, or speculative, positions in the gold futures market hurt buying sentiment. Gold remains above the support levels between $987 and $989, and the overall set-up trend still remains bullish, said CitiFX, Citigroup's technical research unit. COMEX estimated 10 am volume at 59,152 lots. Spot gold was at $990.30 versus $989.95, which was the previous session's late New York quote.
December silver down 5 cents at $16.145 an ounce on weak ETF demand. iShares Silver Trust, the world's largest silver-backed ETF, said its bullion holdings fell 1.5 percent to a four-month low as of September 25. Ranged from $16.010 to $16.320. COMEX estimated 10 am volume at 10,220 lots. Spot silver was at $16.11, versus its previous finish of 16.14 an ounce.
October platinum down $11.70 at $1,274.30 an ounce, as the market fell in tandem with other precious metals. Spot platinum was at $1,272, compared with its previous finish of $1,273.50. December palladium down $3.30 at $290.60 an ounce, down with platinum. Spot palladium was at $289.50, against its previous close of $286.