Investing.com - Gold prices held near their highest level in around four months in early dealings on Tuesday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar languishing near three-year lows.
Dollar weakness usually benefits gold, as it boosts the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Comex gold futures were at $1,339.40 a troy ounce by 3:00AM ET (0800GMT), up $4.60, or about 0.4%, from the last session's closing price. It hit the best level since Sept. 8 at $1,345.00 a day earlier.
The yellow metal did not settle on Monday due to the U.S. Martin Luther King Day holiday.
Meanwhile, silver futures rallied 12.9 cents, or about 0.8%, to $17.27 a troy ounce. It hit a three-month high of $17.42 on Monday.
The dollar index, which gauges the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, wallowed at more than three-year lows. It was last at 90.35, after dropping as low as 90.05 on Monday, its deepest nadir since December 2014.
The greenback has been on the backfoot since last week on rising expectations that central banks in Japan and the euro zone could pare their monetary stimulus.
Looking ahead, the U.S. will release a survey on manufacturing conditions in the New York region at 8:30AM ET (1330GMT).
The majority of economists believe that the Federal Reserve will hike rates in March with a second move higher arriving in June, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
In other metals action, palladium prices tacked on 0.6% to $1,150.60 an ounce. It marked a record-high of $1,138 on Monday thanks to soaring demand for the auto industry.
Sister metal platinum meanwhile inched up 0.2% to $997.90 an ounce, after touching its strongest since Sept. 11 at $1,001.40 on Monday.
March copper rose 0.3% to $3.227 a pound.