Gold Edges Lower As Americans Vote In Midterms
(RTTNews) - Gold prices fell toward $3,900 an ounce on Tuesday after the United States reportedly struck Iran's strategic Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest in a series of limited strikes on the country in recent weeks.
Rate hike expectations and anxiety on the eve of the U.S. mid-term elections also kept bullion prices under pressure.
Spot gold fell about 1 percent to $3,908.42 an ounce while U.S. gold futures were down 1.3 percent at $3,917.57.
Brent crude futures rose about 2 percent after a reported U.S. attack on Qeshm Island. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. military carried out the strikes, which were defensive and aimed at restricting Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said that "the ball is in the U.S. court" to prevent war and that Tehran remains prepared for both diplomacy and military confrontation.
The U.S. dollar was on the defensive as Americans prepared to cast their ballots in their midterm elections, where President Donald Trump's Republican Party is facing an uphill challenge to keep its majority in Congress.
Polls suggest Democrats are likely to win the House of Representatives but the outcome in the Senate is unclear.
Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress during the first two years of Trump's second term, which has been marked by a prolonged war in Iran, rising inflation and trade disputes.
In economic news, the release of key job openings, ISM services index, weekly jobless claims and payrolls data this week could influence the Federal Reserve's rate trajectory.
The Bank of England is expected to increase U.K. interest rates to 4 percent on Thursday after several recent pauses, given resilient growth and stubbornly high inflation.
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