Gold prices were severely affected by the rallying dollar, along with the prospect of a rate hike in December, which makes the non-interest-paying gold unattractive. Gold futures hit a five and a half year nadir yesterday at $1,064.62 an ounce; it is trading today at $1,067.60, down 0.10%.

Dollar was basking atop other currencies, with its index trading at 99.71, near a 12 year high hit in March. It traded at 1.0646 against Euro, near a seven-month high reached yesterday. Dollar is at 1.5203 against Sterling, steadying down 0.08%. It traded at 123.29 against yen, near a three-month high.

Asian shares produced mixed results, with Japan's Nikkei touching a three-month high before receding to 19,672, with a 0.21% gain. China's Shanghai is down 0.50%, while Australia's S&P\ASX 200 index advanced 0.29%. Korea's KOSPI gained 0.13%, while India's Sensex index lost 0.20%.

Wall Street ended Tuesday's trading flat, with Dow Jones up 6 points, or 0.04% at 17,489. NASDAQ rose 1.4 points, or 0.03% to 4,986. S&P 500 fell 2.7 points, or 0.13% to 2,050.

Euro tried to recover some of its losses, with its index up a modest 0.05% to 85.88. Euro gained 0.13% against Sterling to 0.7005. It continued falling against yen however, receding 0.08% to 131.28.

Oil prices retook some ground, with Brent futures for December up 21 cents, or 0.48% to $43.94 a barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 29 cents, or 0.73% to $40.97 a barrel.

Australian dollar is down 0.19% to $0.7098. Canadian dollar was flat, trading at C$1.3317.

A basket of data is awaited from the U.S. today, most notably; Building Permits for October are forecast at an annual 1.15M, better than September's 1.11M. House construction is a crucial part of the economy, and a high number of permits could push the dollar even higher.

Crude Oil Inventories for the U.S. are forecast to have grown 2M in the last week, lower than the previous week's 4.2M addition. A high inventory build-up is negative for oil prices since it indicates a supply glut.