Gold closes higher but curbs gains on strong dollar

Gold prices rose slightly during the day, amid pressure from the rise of the dollar against most major currencies while the markets shifted focus to companies quarterly earnings results.

Both Microsoft and Facebook posted strong quarterly results that exceeded expectations, which boosted their shares and raised optimism about a positive earnings season.

On the other hand, by 17:52 GMT, the dollar index (against a number of major currencies) rose by 0.1% to 98.1 points, with a high of 98.3 points and a low of 97.9 points.

US President Donald Trump has praised the progress of the trade negotiations with China, stating that the performance of the US economy and the performance of trade negotiators with Beijing seems well.

Gold futures (June delivery) rose only 30 cents to close at $1279.70 an ounce. The precious metal hit a high of $1284.8 and a low of $1275.2.