09:33 AM EST, 11/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Gold prices fell early on Monday, dropping for the first time in six sessions despite a weakening dollar as geopolitical tensions eased following reports Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire agreement over Israel's war with the Hezbollah militia group.

Gold for February delivery was last seen down US$33.00 to US$2,704.20 per ounce.

Citing U.S. officials, Axios on Monday reported that Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal with Lebanon, even as Israel continues to bombard Beirut and Hezbollah fires rockets across the border. The agreement eases some of the tensions that spiked last week, pushing gold up 6.5%, after Ukraine made its first attacks on Russia using foreign-made missiles and Russia responded with nuclear threats and fired an experimental missile at the city of Dnipro.

The dollar was sharply lower early, normally bullish for commodities priced in the currency, after President-Elect Donald Trump made hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent his choice for Treasury secretary. CNBC reported Bessent is considered to be a moderate pick for the post and could push Trump to reconsider his plan for broad-based tariffs. The ICE dollar index was last seen down 0.92 points to 106.64.

Bessent is "seen as a fiscal hawk, this may inject more stability into the US economy and financial markets, thereby lowering safe haven demand from investors worried about the US debt situation", Saxo Bank noted.

Treasury yields also fell, with the U.S. two-year note last seen paying 4.316%, down 6.8 basis points, while the yield on the 10-year note was down 11.2 points to 4.299%.