Gold climbs toward $1,530 as market sentiment turns sour

• 10-year US Treasury bond yield erases more than 3% on Tuesday.
• Wall Street's main indexes turn red on the day after opening higher.
• US Dollar Index retreats to 98.50 area in the American session.

The XAU/USD pair closed the first day of the week with small gains near $1,520 and spent the first half of the day on Tuesday moving sideways near that level. However, with the market sentiment turning during the American trading hours, the precious metal gathered strength as a safe haven and the pair rose to its highest level since September 5 at $1,529. As of writing, the pair was trading at $1,527.20, adding 0.32% on the day.

Risk-off flows start to dominate markets

The data published by the Conference Board today revealed that the consumer sentiment in the US weakened in September with the Consumer Confidence Index dropping to 125.1 from 134.2 and missing the market forecast of 133.5.

In addition to the uninspiring data, during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, US President Trump said that the World Trade Organization (WTO) needed drastic change given China's actions on trade to further weigh on the market sentiment.

Reflecting the change in the mood, the 10-year US Treasury bond yield extended its slide and was last down around 3.5% on the day while Wall Street's three main indexes, which started the day in the positive territory, pared early gains and are now posting modest losses.

In the meantime, the Greenback struggled to preserve its strength in the second half of the day to support the pair's rally. At the moment, the US Dollar Index is down 0.11% on the day at 98.50.

Technical levels to watch for