Investing.com – Gold prices traded roughly unchanged on Tuesday, shrugging off a rebound in the dollar from three-year lows as data showed traders remained bullish on the precious metal despite the uptick in demand for risker assets.
Gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $0.20, or 0.02%, to $1,335.10 a troy ounce.
Gold prices remained close to four-month highs amid ongoing demand for the yellow metal as data showed traders increased their bullish bets on gold for the fourth-straight week.
Speculative net long position in gold rose by 40,000 contracts to a net long 203,300 contracts, a six-week high, according to the most recent Commitment of Traders (COT) report.
Gold’s strong start to the year comes against continued risk-on sentiment as global equities extended their gains from 2017, rising to all-time highs. Some market participants, however, said they expected the yellow metal to range trade in 2018 amid expectations of additional Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.
“We see a trading range of $1,225-$1,430 for gold this year, with an average price of $1,290," INTL FCStone said in a note, as they are “uncertain whether could withstand the higher yield environment.”
In a rising interest rate environment, investor appetite for gold weakens as the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal increases relative to other interest-bearing assets such as bonds.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 0.23% to $17.18 a troy ounce, while platinum futures rose 0.78% to $1004.
Copper fell 0.05% to $3.22, while natural gas fell 2.69% to $3.11.