Gold falls as dollar gains ground

Gold futures fell in American trade away from the highest since mid-August, as the dollar index rose for the fifth session out of seven off the lowest since late 2014, following earlier US housing data, and after the Senate passed the budget bill for 2018, opening the door for Republicans to pass tax reforms without Democratic support. 

As of 02:58 GMT, gold futures due on December 16 slid 0.48% to $1,283.80 an ounce from the opening of $1,290.00, while the dollar index rose 0.38% to 93.62 from the opening of 93.27. 

US existing home sales rose 0.7% in September to an annualized 5.39 million units, compared to a 1.7% decline in August to 5.35 million, while analysts expected a 0.9% drop to 5.30M, as President Donald Trump continues to meet with potential candidates for the Federal Reserve Chair job in February. 

Similarly, US 10-year treasury bond yield rose by four basis points to 2.36%, as analysts expect Trump to replace Janet Yellen with a policy hawk as Fed Chair, underpinning the greenback and weighing on the yellow metal. 

Risk appetite rose as well in the markets after the Senate passed its budget pill on Thursday, raising hopes of fast tax reforms to come, which led investors away from safe havens and towards high-yield investments such as stocks and bonds.