2017.08.2122:22:00UTC+00Gold Prices Lower; Investors Cautious Ahead of Jackson Hole Meeting

Gold prices were slightly lower amid the steady dollar early on Tuesday. Investors will pay attention to developments on the geopolitical front as they also remain wary ahead of the annual central banking meeting in Jackson Hole later this week.

Spot gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,289.77 per ounce after climbing 0.5 percent in the session earlier.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.1 percent to $1,295.30 an ounce.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six major peers, was stable at 93.107.

On Monday, the precious metal eased to $1,290.9.

The buying of gold future contracts by hedge funds and other speculators has jumped to a record $19 billion over the past month, fueled by concern on lofty equity market valuations as well as geopolitical tensions with North Korea, according to analysts.

Gold-backed ETFs have posted outflows over the same period.

According to estimates from Suki Cooper, an analyst at Standard Chartered in New York, hedge funds and other investors purchased a record 474 tonnes of gold over the past five weeks on the Comex futures exchange in New York.