Investing.com - Gold prices eased further on Tuesday in Asia following the U.S. lead as support from tensions in the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine eased on prospects for negotiations in both regions.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at $1,309.10 a troy ounce, down 0.11%, after hitting an overnight session low of $1,306.50 and off a high of $1,312.80.
Reports that Russia has ended the military exercises it was conducting near the Ukraine border gave the dollar room to rise on Monday in a session void of major market-moving indicators, which ate into gold's appeal as a hedge.
Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely with one another.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is working with the International Red Cross to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine, which also gave the greenback support.
Meanwhile in the Middle East, a 72-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza took effect on Sunday, which gave the dollar further room to rise by allaying concerns that geopolitical tensions will dampen global growth and possibly prompt the Federal Reserve to take more time analyzing the economy before raising interest rates.
A U.S. decision to launch airstrikes in Iraq to halt a Sunni insurgency gave the greenback support as well, as fears that the country was on the edge of chaos continue to wane on Monday.
Still, lulls in conflicts have happened in the past, and investors priced in the possibilities that flare ups were possible in Ukraine and in the Middle East, which cushioned gold's declines.
Silver for September delivery was down 0.39% at $20.017 a troy ounce. Copper futures for September delivery was flat at $3.177 a pound.