Gold futures moved sharply lower on Tuesday as investors remain cautious. Budget talks in the U.S. appeared to have come to a deadlock, after the White House rejected House Republicans’ tax-revenue plan a day before.
Gold for February delivery lost $14.10, or 0.8%, to $1,706.70 an ounce. Most other precious metals tracked gold-futures lower.
Silver for March delivery lost 1.2% to $33.34 an ounce.
Palladium for the same month slumped 1% to $684.20 an ounce, while January platinum gave up 1.1% to $1,596.00. March copper climbed 0.1% to $3.66 per pound.
Elsewhere, worries over efforts to avert the U.S. “fiscal cliff” hobbled the dollar despite its reputation as a refuge in times of uncertainty. The dollar remains weak, because of relatively positive developments in the euro zone. The dollar fell to a one-month low against a basket of currencies, with its index dropping to 79.706.
