Gold climbs to near 3-week high as dollar slides

Gold rallied to the highest level in nearly three weeks on Tuesday after a strong debate performance from French centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron and as fading expectations for near-term U.S. interest rate hikes pushed the dollar lower. 

The U.S. dollar index fell to a six-week low while 10-year Treasury yields and U.S. and European shares also dropped, helping to bolster gold. 

 

Spot gold was up 0.9 % at $1,244.48 an ounce by 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT), just off the session high of $1,247.60, its highest level since March 2. U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled up 1 % at $1,246.50. 

 

Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange traded fund, New York-listed SPDR Gold Shares , declined for a third straight day on Monday.