2022.12.0618:00:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Slightly Higher

Gold futures settled higher on Tuesday but gains for the contract were just marginal as the dollar stayed firm amid bets the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively hike interest rates.

The dollar index surged to 105.53, gaining nearly 0.25%.

Gold futures for February ended higher by $1.10 at $1,782.40 an ounce, after having climbed to $1,793.20 earlier in the session.

Silver futures for March ended down $0.082 at $22.335 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.8180 per pound, up $0.0230 from the previous close.

In U.S. economic news today, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in the month of October.

The report said the trade deficit widened to $78.2 billion in October from a revised $74.1 billion in September. Economists had expected the trade deficit to increase to $79.1 billion from the $73.3 billion originally reported for the previous month.

The wider trade deficit came as the value of exports slid by 0.7% to $256.6 billion, while the value of imports climbed by 0.6% to $334.8 billion.