Gold rises on concerns about rising US COVID infections

Gold prices rose on Tuesday, despite the US dollar's rise against most major currencies, amid concerns about the pandemic.

The markets are following the coronavirus pandemic developments, as daily infections in many countries around the world continue to increase, especially due to the Omicron variant.

Observers believe that a "corona tsunami" in the US means that infections are rising by 1 million cases every day, which has already happened during the past 24 hours.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the US manufacturing PMI slowed down to 58.7 points in December from 61.1 points in November, missing forecasts of 60 points.

The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.1% to 96.3 points as of 20:12 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.4 points and a low of 96.03 points.

Gold spot prices rose 0.8% to $1,814.8 an ounce, as of 20:12 GMT.