London — Gold edged up on Tuesday as a deepening political crisis in Italy provoked a second day of heavy selling on European financial markets, though a buoyant dollar kept the precious metal’s gains in check. Italy’s president set the country on a path to early elections on Monday, appointing a former International Monetary Fund (IMF) official as interim prime minister with the task of planning for snap polls and passing the next budget. Investors fear repeat elections — which could take place as soon as August — might serve as a quasi-referendum on Italy’s role in the EU and eurozone, and strengthen the country’s eurosceptic parties even further. But keeping a lid on gold’s gains, the turmoil in Italy pushed the dollar up to a six-and-a-half-month high against the euro, making dollar-priced gold costlier for non-US investors. Spot gold was 0.4% higher at $1,303.20 an ounce at 10am GMT, while US gold futures for June delivery fell 0.1% to $1,302.70. "Gold is struggling to go anywh...
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