Gold eases as dollar ticks up

Gold prices inched lower on Tuesday as the dollar ticked up, although concerns over rising COVID-19 cases and hopes of a large U.S. fiscal stimulus being eventually released checked the metal's decline.

FUNDAMENTALS
Spot gold slipped 0.1% to $1,919.51 per ounce by 0117 GMT.


U.S. gold futures were down 0.3% to $1,923.

The dollar index was up 0.1% against rivals, while Asian stocks were set to rise.

Republicans in the U.S. Senate will go along with what President Donald Trump wants in coronavirus relief legislation, a White House spokeswoman said, as the White House pursues a deal with Democratic lawmakers.

Trump had on Sunday called on Congress to pass a stripped-down coronavirus relief bill.

Trump has tested negative for COVID-19 on consecutive days and is not infectious to others, the White House physician said, as Trump headed to Florida for his first campaign rally since he disclosed he contracted the virus.

There is reluctance among European Central Bank policymakers to follow the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to target an average inflation rate, fearing this could tie their hands, sources involved in a revamp of ECB policy told Reuters.

The number of new COVID-19 cases rose 11% in the United States last week compared to the previous seven days, with infections spreading rapidly in the Midwest, according to a Reuters analysis.

Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.48% to 1,277.65 tonnes on Monday.

Silver fell 0.4% to $25.02 per ounce, platinum was flat at $873.46, and palladium rose 0.1% to $2,403.07.