LONDON, Oct 18: Gold eased in Europe on Tuesday ahead of a series of US economic data later in the day, with dealers keeping an eye on dollar and oil prices for new leads.

The precious metal was seen getting support from high crude oil prices and good physical demand, but was under some pressure because of a strong dollar.

Spot gold traded in a narrow range and fetched $472.00/472.75 per troy ounce, down from $473.70/474.50 last quoted in New York on Monday.

Some support can be gathered from higher oil prices which have been rising on concerns of the threat of the tropical storm developing in the Gulf of Mexico, said Yingxi Yu, analyst with Barclays Capital.

Traders said gold could potentially test last week’s near-18-year high of $480.25 and the big number of $500 in the medium term, but the current trade was expected to be range-bound.

Crude oil prices rose 2.8 per cent the previous day but slipped below $64 a barrel on Tuesday, as the path of a new storm meant it could miss hurricane-battered Gulf of Mexico oil facilities.

Investors tend to be attracted to gold in times of economic uncertainty, especially amid potentially rising inflation, due to the metal’s role as a perceived store of value.

Traders said gold could attract more buying at about $470 an ounce, but face resistance at around $475. But a break of that level could push the metal higher in the range of $478-$480.

Traders said they were also watching currency movements, which could affect gold prices.

The dollar punched through resistance to hit a two-year high against the yen on Tuesday, boosted by expectations of more US interest rate rises and Japanese investor demand for higher-yielding foreign bonds.

A strong US currency generally makes dollar-priced gold costlier for holders of other currencies and lowers demand. But the metal has not strictly followed the rule in the last couple of weeks.

Silver fell to $7.76/7.79 from $7.79/7.82 an ounce in New York, while platinum traded at $933/936 versus $932/935.

Spot palladium was at $211/215 an ounce, compared with $212/215. —Reuters