NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold futures are slightly higher as the U.S. dollar dips a bit in thin trading between the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
In recent activity, February gold futures were up $5.40 at $1,110.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Thin liquidity is expected to continue into the year's end, a Goldessential.com research note said. It noted the Boxing Day holidays in the U.K. and Canada on Monday.
The ICE Futures U.S. dollar index was down 0.116 point at 77.568 points.
But the index is still well elevated compared to its November lows, just as February gold is well off its Dec. 3 record of $1,227.50.
Dollar-denominated assets like gold often trade inversely to the greenback because dollar movements make them more or less expensive for those using other currencies.
Also, gold's pullback has come as investors have bought the dollar amid growing confidence in a U.S. economic recovery and expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates earlier than expected next year. That would curtail the easy money policy of near-zero interest rates that helped boost gold this year.
-By Matt Whittaker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2139; matt.whittaker@dowjones.com
