12.01.202118:37:00UTC+00Gold Futures Fail To Hold Early Gains, Settle Modestly Lower

Despite gaining notable ground early on in the session, and the dollar turning easy, gold futures retreated and settled lower on Tuesday.

Gold prices moved higher earlier in the day amid expectations of fresh stimulus, rising tensions between the U.S. and China, and the surge in coronavirus cases. Disturbing political situation in the U.S. too contributed to gold's uptick.

The dollar index slipped to 90.19, losing nearly 0.4% from previous close.

Gold futures for February ended down $6.60 or about 0.4% at $1,844.20 an ounce, nearly $20 off the day's high.

Silver futures for March closed higher by $0.151 at $25.435 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.6055 per pound, gaining $0.0410.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, the overall global coronavirus caseload has topped 90.8 million and the deaths surged to more than 1.94 million.