Investing.com - Gold prices rose to their highest level in more than six weeks in European trade on Tuesday, as investor sentiment remained skewed toward safe-haven assets ahead of testimony from the former FBI director and British elections later this week.
Comex gold futures rose to a session peak of $1,292.09 a troy ounce, a level not seen since April 19. It was last at $1,290.61 by 2:45AM ET (0645GMT), up $8.20, or about 0.6%. Meanwhile, spot gold was at $1,288.34.
Gold prices scored a second-straight session of gains Monday as market players monitored fresh geopolitical tension in the Middle East as well as the fallout from the weekend terror attack in London.
Also on the Comex, silver futures tacked on 3.6 cents, or around 0.2%, to $17.61 a troy ounce. It rose to $17.67 in overnight trade, a level not seen since April 26.
Market players will pay close attention to former FBI director James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, in a hearing that could add to difficulties facing President Donald Trump.
It has been reported that Comey plans to testify to conversations in which Trump pressured him to drop his investigation into former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, who was fired for failing to disclose conversations with Russian officials.
Meanwhile, in Britain, the latest opinion poll, by Survation for ITV (LON:ITV) television, showed Prime Minister Theresa May's lead over the opposition Labour Party holding at just 1 percentage point ahead of Thursday's election.
Other polls in recent days have found bigger leads for the Conservatives of up to 11 and 12 points.
A failure to win the election with a large majority would weaken May just as formal Brexit talks are due to begin, while the loss of her majority in parliament would pitch British politics into turmoil.
Gold is often seen as an alternative currency in times of global economic uncertainty and a refuge from financial risk.
Reduced expectations for aggressive U.S. rate hikes from the Federal Reserve in the second half of this year further boosted the appeal of the yellow metal.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.56 in London morning trade. It fell to the lowest since November 9 at 96.49 in overnight trade.
Elsewhere in metals trading, platinum ticked up 0.5% to $962.40, while palladium dipped 0.2% to $840.40 an ounce.
Copper futures held steady at $2.556 a pound.