Gold extends gains for second day ahead of Fed meeting

Gold prices rose during the European session on Tuesday, to extend gains for the second straight dayو on the US dollar drop against a basket of currencies, and ahead of the US Fed monetary policy meeting, which will be the last during this year. 

Gold prices rose by 0.3% to $1,465.60, after opening at $1,461.79, and hit a session-low of $1,460.04.

The yellow metal gained 0.2% yesterday, to recover some of previous losses hit on Friday after upbeat jobs data in the US.

The US dollar index fell by 0.15% against its rivals, to deepen its losses for second straight day, as sell-off continued on the US currency, which comes in favour of dollar-denominated metals.

This drop in US dollar is due to investors' risk aversion after the release of weak Chinese data and the lingering uncertainty about the US-China trade talks while the date of the US tariffs decision approaches on $156 billion worth of Chinese goods, which is due Dec.15.

The last Federal Reserve's meeting  during 2019 will launch later today, and the decisions will be unveiled tomorrow, amid increased market's bets for the Fed to hold interest rates unchanged at 1.75%, and settle for the three rate cuts during this year.

Investors are also anticipating the monetary policy statement and the remarks of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, for insight o the future of interest rates in the next year.

Gold holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust Fund, remained unchanged yesterday, with a total of 886.23 mt (the lowest since Sept.18).