Gold prices decline as US dollar stabilizes

Gold prices fell on Tuesday as the dollar stabilized in light of the awaited US jobs data, despite the increase in COVID-19 cases.

Spot gold fell 0.24% to reach $1,809.14 per ounce, while gold futures contracts for December delivery declined 0.6%, or $10.4, to reach $1,811.8 per ounce, by 10:41 am Makkah time.

Elsewhere, silver futures for September delivery fell 1.1% to reach $25.29 per ounce, platinum declined 0.38% to reach $1,055.78 per ounce, and palladium settled at $2,680.15 per ounce.

The dollar index - which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six major currencies - settled at 92.05 points.

Christopher Waller, an American economist and a Federal Reserve official, predicted in an interview with CNBC on Aug.2, that the central bank could start reducing its support for the economy by October, if each of the next two monthly jobs reports showed an addition of between 800,000 to a million jobs.