Investing.com - Gold prices were lower on Monday, as economic turmoil in Turkey left markets uncertain about direction.
Comex gold futures for August delivery fell 1.21% to $1,204.40 a troy ounce as of 10:46 AM ET (14:46 GMT).
Tensions between the U.S. and Turkey continued on Monday, with Turkey’s central bank pledging to provide liquidity and cut reserve requirements for Turkish banks.
The central bank said it cut the lira's reserve requirement ratio, a cash buffer held by banks, by 250 basis points for all maturity brackets and lowered reserve requirement ratios for non-core FX liabilities by 400 basis points for maturities up to three years.The Turkish lira had fallen to fresh lows last week as the country’s diplomatic spat with the U.S. and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s control over the economy spooked investors.
Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, who is Erdogan’s son-in-law, said Sunday said that Turkey would implement an economic action plan, but did not give details on what the steps would be.
The precious metal was unmoved by a weaker greenback. Gold usually falls as the dollar rises, as it is denominated in the U.S. currency and is sensitive to moves in the dollar.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.12% to 96.07.
Bullion becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies when the dollar rises and cheaper when it falls.
Other metals were mostly up on the Comex, with silver futures falling 0.75% to $15.180 a troy ounce. Among other precious metals, platinum futures slumped 2.62% to $807.90, while palladium futures decreased 0.83% to $894.10 an ounce. Copper futures rose 0.24% to $2.749 a pound.