Gold settled below $1,250 an ounce on Tuesday, after technical selling sent prices to a three-month low as the U.S. dollar rose and investors worried that the Federal Reserve and other central banks would hike interest rates earlier than expected.
Gold's drop and the dollar's rally also weighed heavily on other precious metals, sending silver below $19 and platinum prices to a seven-month low.
for December delivery closed $5.80 lower at $1,248.50 an ounce. Spot gold was last down 0.5 percent at $1,249 an ounce. The metal closed down 1 percent on Monday, after earlier hitting $1,251.24 - its lowest since June.
Chart: Precious Metals
"Some traders have given up on gold as the $1,250 level represents the line in the sand for many traders. Also, geopolitical risks also appeared to be fading for now," said Phillip Streible, senior commodities broker at RJO Futures in Chicago.
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The dollar index was near July 2013 highs, boosted by a San Francisco Fed study that noted investors are pricing in a lower trajectory for interest rates rises than members of the central bank are.
It was also supported as sterling was pressured amid ongoing jitters that Scotland could vote to secede from the United Kingdom.
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