NEW YORK: Gold held on to gains in New York trade on Tuesday as the dollar remained under pressure, with prospects for more stimulus buoying bullion’s appeal as an inflation hedge.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,840.38 per ounce at 02:01 p.m. EST (1901 GMT), recovering from its lowest since Dec. 2 at $1,809.90 hit on Monday.

US gold futures settled up 0.6% to $1,840.20.

The value of the US dollar should be determined by markets, Janet Yellen, US President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, told Senate lawmakers at her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Yellen also reaffirmed her commitment to relief measures and underlined the depth of the economic crisis.

Gold is considered a hedge against inflation and currency debasement that can result from widespread stimulus.

The dollar is “going to be driven by market forces and for the time being, market forces are pointing to a lower dollar,” said Daniel Ghali, commodity strategist at TD Securities. “As long as we get this momentum (in equities) on the upside, it makes gold prices relatively trade within a range,” said Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments, adding the likelihood of more stimulus was very positive for gold. Silver eased 0.5% to $25.20 an ounce, platinum gained 0.4% to $1,082.92 and palladium was down 0.6% at $2,357.76.