Gold continues to rise as U.S. dollar retreats

CHICAGO, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed higher on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar continued to fall.

The most active gold contract for April delivery rose four U.S. dollars, or 0.30 percent, to close at 1330.40 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, fell 0.47 percent to 89.69 as of 1742 GMT.

Gold and the dollar usually move in opposite directions. If the dollar goes down, gold futures will rise as the precious metal, which is priced in dollar, becomes cheaper for investors using weaker monetary units.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell during the morning session. It lost 83.88 points, or 0.34 percent, as of 1752 GMT, offering additional support to gold.

However, the stocks later reversed from earlier losses and traded in the positive territory after gold futures settled.

In a related development, the new Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the central bank will continue gradually to raise interest rates and rewind its balance sheet, against the background of strong global recovery.

Some Fed officials have expressed that recent stock market declines would not affect their forecast for economic outlook, signaling that they would continue to raise interest rates three times this year, the same pace as in 2017.

As for other precious metals, silver for March delivery fell 4.2 cents, or 0.25 percent, to settle at 16.528 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April rose 2.90 dollars, or 0.30 percent, to close at 975.70 dollars per ounce. Enditem