Investing.com - Gold prices fell in U.S. trading on Tuesday after positive U.S. housing and consumer confidence data sparked demand for the dollar, which tends to trade inversely with the yellow metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at 1,266.90 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, down 1.94%, up from a session low of $1,264.60 and off a high of $1,293.50.
The August contract settled down 0.25% at $1,2915.90 on Friday. Markets were closed on Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,282.90 a troy ounce, Wednesday's low, and resistance at $1,304.10, Thursday's high.
The Conference Board reported earlier that its consumer confidence index rose to 83.0 this month from 81.7 in April, in line with market expectations.
Elsewhere, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller house price index rose 12.4% in March from a year earlier, beating forecasts for a gain of 11.8% and following a rise of 12.9% in February.
Healthy wholesale pricing data firmed the greenback as well.
The Commerce Department reported earlier U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.8% in April, confounding expectations for a 0.5% fall, after a 3.6% increase in March, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated 2.9% rise.
Core durable goods orders, which are stripped of volatile transportation items, rose 0.1% last month, missing expectations for a 0.3% increase. Core durable goods orders in March were revised up to a 2.9% gain from a previously estimated 2.4% rise.
Tuesday's data renewed market expectations for the Federal Reserve to continue winding down stimulus programs this year provided recovery remains on track.
Fed stimulus tools such as monthly bond purchases weaken the dollar by suppressing long-term interest rates, which makes gold an attractive hedge.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery was down 1.75% at $19.078 a troy ounce, while copper futures for July delivery were up 0.22% at $3.175 a pound.