Gold prices higher to steady in Asia

Gold prices were higher to steady in early Asia on Tuesday with the focus on HSBC's China flash PMI figures for September.  On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at $1,216.90 a troy ouce, up 0.08%, after hitting an overnight session low of $1,208.90 and off a high of $1,221.00. In China, the flash HSBC manufacturing PMI is due for September with a reading of a borderline between expansion and contraction of 50 expected, down from last month's final of 50.2, a three-month low. Overnight, gold futures posted modest gains on Monday after disappointing US housing data. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales unexpectedly fell 1.8% to an annual unit rate of 5.05 million in August. Analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 1% to 5.20 million units, and the numbers weakened the greenback slightly and gave gold room to rise, according to investing.com