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Gold hovered near a two-week low on Tuesday that it touched in the previous session, as year-end profit-taking caused all precious metals to stage a broad pullback from record highs hit earlier.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was up 0.4% at $4,347.67 per ounce, as of 0145 GMT, after hitting a record high of $4,549.71 on Friday. It fell to its lowest since December 17 on Monday, also its sharpest daily loss since October 21.
* U.S. gold futures for February delivery were up 0.5% at $4,363.20/oz.
* The U.S. dollar held near a one-week high against rivals on Monday, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for other currency holders.
* Bullion has staged a stellar rally in 2025, climbing 66% so far.
* Interest rate cuts and bets of further easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve, geopolitical conflicts, robust demand from central banks, and rising holdings in exchange-traded funds have fueled gold's rally this year.
* Fed funds futures traders are pricing in between two and three 25 basis point cuts next year, with the first cut seen as having roughly 50/50 odds for March.
* Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment.
* Spot silver was up 1.6% at $73.43 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 in the previous session. Silver registered its biggest daily loss since August 11, 2020, on Monday.
* Silver has gained 154% year-to-date, far outpacing gold, and breaking through the $80 mark, propelled by its designation as a critical U.S. minerals list, supply constraints, and low inventories amid rising industrial and investment demand.
* Spot platinum rose 0.1% to $2,110.60 per ounce, a one-week low, after rising to an all-time high of $2,478.50 on Monday, even as it witnessed its sharpest daily drop ever by the session's close, while palladium fell 0.7% to $2,605.78 per ounce, a more than two-week low.
(Reporting by Ishaan Arora; Editing by Rashmi Aich)





















