Gold prices rose on Tuesday, extending gains for the third day in a row, as the US dollar fell against a basket of currencies, and the US bond yield's rally stopped, ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress..

Gold prices rose more than 0.5% to $1,810.24, after opening at $1,801.45, and hit a day high at $1,800.05.

Gold closed higher by 0.3% yesterday, the second straight daily gain, due to the lingering impact of the disappointing US jobs report released on Friday.

The dollar index fell 0.2% against a basket of major currencies today, which lifts down on dollar-denominated metals.

The US dollar is falling as the US bonds' rally paused, as the 10-year Treasury bonds yield fell today by more than 1.0%, in a pullback from the 2-year high of 1.808% hit yesterday.

At 15:00 GMT, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the Senate Banking Committee.

This testimony is expected to provide cues about the timing of the first US interest rate hike in 2022, as hawkish statements boost the prospects of a hike in March.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF remained unchanged yesterday, with the total at the lowest level since December 28 of 977.08 metric tonnes.

Sterling jumped in European trade to two-month highs against dollar, resuming the gains as the greenback declined against major rivals on prospects of a UK rate hike next February.

GBP/USD rose 0.3% to 1.3619, the highest since November 4, with an intraday low at 1.3563, after closing down 0.1% yesterday on profit-taking away from seven-week highs.

The pound rose 0.4% last week against dollar, the third weekly profit in a row as Omicron concerns fade.

The dollar index fell 0.2% on Tuesday against a basket of major rivals as investors shun new positions ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony.

In the UK, the Bank of England is widely expected to increase interest rates once more in next month's meeting. 

The odds improved once fears over the economic impact of Omicron faded away, as the UK government refused to impose new restrictions. 

A multitude of studies showed Omicron caused less severe symptoms in large compared to previous Covid variants. 

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, resuming gains after a 2-day pause due to profit-taking, rising again near a 2-month high thanks to improved market sentiment, while the US dollar fell against its peers ahead of Jerome Powell's testimony, in addition to expectations of a drop in the US crude inventories.

US crude rose 1.5% to $79.64 a barrel, after opening at $78.43, and hit a low at $78.39, and Brent crude rose 1.5% to $82.22 a barrel, after opening at $80.98, and hit a low at $80.91.

The US crude fell 0.6% yesterday, and Brent fell 1%, due to profit-taking from the 2-month high hit on Friday.

The market sentiment improved globally on Tuesday, which is  reflected in the recovery of most global stocks, due to the US Treasury yields' drop for the second day in a row.

The dollar index fell more than 0.2% today, which lifts prices of dollar-denominated commodities.

The US dollar is falling as the US bonds' rally paused, ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress later today.

The American Petroleum Institute will release later today its preliminary report on the US crude inventories, and the US Energy Information Administration will release the official data on Wednesday.

Otherwise, several analysts said that OPEC-Plus output hikes are less than the increase allowed under the supply cut agreement, as some countries, including Nigeria, produce less than its share.

Most of the US stock indices closed lower on Monday, but Wall Street managed to cut its early losses thanks to optimism about the development of a vaccine against the Omicron variant soon.

Bear in mind that the Fed's meeting minutes showed Fed officials are preparing to move quicker in raising interest rate than expected.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said that Fed could raise interest rates as soon as March, which is sooner than expected.

Goldman Sachs analysts projected the Fed to raise interest rates 4 times this year.

Efforts to contain the coronavirus continue in many countries around the world, as governments avoid re-imposing lockdown restrictions to not harm their economies.

Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, said that he expects to have a vaccine that targets the omicron variant ready by next March.

As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.4% or 162 points, and closed at 36,068, with a day high of 36,175, and a low of 35,639.

S&P 500 fell 0.1% or 6 points to 4,670, after hitting a high of 4,673 and a low of 4,582 points.

Nasdaq rose 0.1% or 7 points to 14,942, with a high of 14,953 and a low of 14,530.