2018.08.1414:13:00UTC+00Gold Snaps 3-day Losing Streak, Settles Modestly Higher

Gold futures pared some mid session gains but still ended modestly higher on Tuesday, after having plunged to an 18-month low in the previous session.

A softer dollar lifted gold to around $1,205.80 an ounce, but the yellow metal came off that level after the greenback surged to a fresh 14-month high.

The U.S. dollar index moved past 96.50, gaining about 0.4%, after having dropped down to 96.02 earlier in the day.

The Turkish lira recouped some recent losses, and gained over 7% against the greenback. On Monday, the lira had extended its losses to a fifth straight session and tanked to a record low of 7.1289 against the dollar. The currency recovered today following Turkey's central bank's decision to provide liquidity the country's banking sector.

Gold futures for December ended up $1.80, or 0.2%, at $1,200.70 an ounce, snapping a three-session losing streak.

Silver futures for September gained $0.083, or 0.55%, to $15.065 an ounce. Copper futures declined $0.044, or 1.61%, to $2.687 per pound.

In U.S. economic news, data released by the Labor Department showed import prices came in unchanged in the month of July, after edging down by a revised 0.1% in June. Economists had expected import prices to inch up by 0.1% compared to the 0.4% decrease originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, export prices fell by 0.5% in July after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2% in June. Export prices had been expected to rise by 0.2% compared to the 0.3% increase originally reported for the previous month.