Gold falls 1% on firmer dollar, thin Asia trade

Gold fell 1% on Tuesday as thin trading persisted across major Asian markets due to the Lunar New Year holidays, while a firmer dollar also pressured prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold dropped 0.9% to $4,947.98 per ounce by 0110 GMT, after losing 1% earlier in the session.


* ‌U.S. gold ⁠futures ⁠for April delivery lost 1.6% to $4,966.80 per ounce.

* The U.S. dollar index rose 0.2% against a basket of currencies, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies.

* Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. U.S markets were shut ⁠on Monday ‌on account of Presidents' Day.

* Markets currently expect three 25-basis-point interest rate cuts by the U.S. ⁠Federal Reserve this year, per CME's FedWatch Tool. Non-yielding bullion tends to do well in low-interest-rate environments.

* Elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved "indirectly" in talks between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear programme set for Tuesday in Geneva, adding he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal.

* Meanwhile, ‌Iran's foreign minister met with the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Monday, ahead of talks between Washington and Tehran aimed at resolving ⁠a nuclear dispute, with few clear signs of compromise from either side and the threat of U.S. military action looming.

* Spot silver fell 2.7% to $74.51 per ounce, after dropping over 3% earlier.

* Spot platinum shed 0.8% to $2,025.05 per ounce, while palladium lost 1.5% to $1,698.10.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)

0430 Japan Tertiary Ind Act NSA Dec

0700 Germany HCIP Final YY Jan

0700 UK Claimant Count Unem Chng Jan

0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Jan

0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Jan

0800 Germany ZEW Economic Sentiment, Current Conditions Feb.