Gold tumbles to lows, below $1300 mark on stronger USD

Gold edged lower through early NA session on Tuesday and is currently placed at fresh session lows, marginally below the $1300 mark. 

The yellow metal eroded majority of previous session's sharp recovery gains from closer to 4-week lows, led by global flight to safety after North Korea’s foreign minister described the US President Donald Trump’s recent comments as “clearly a declaration of war”.

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With a slight improvement in investors' risk appetite, as depicted by a modest uptick in European equity markets and the US Treasury bond yields, persistent US Dollar demand was seen exerting pressure on the dollar-denominated commodity. 

Traders now wait for the US economic data in order to grab some short-term opportunities, while the Fed Chair Janet Yellen's speech would be looked upon for hints over December rate hike move, which would eventually drive the non-yielding metal in the near-term.

Technical levels to watch

Immediate support is pegged near $1297 level, below which metal could drift back towards $1291 horizontal level before eventually dropping to its next support near $1285-84 support area.

On the upside, momentum back above $1306 level might continue to confront fresh supply near the $1311-13 region, which if cleared could lift the commodity back towards $1323-25 hurdle.