Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures ended a tad higher Tuesday, as investors focused on bullish factors such as physical demand and unease centered around inflation to overcome the bout of profit-taking that took down other metals. Gold for June delivery, the most active contract, added $2.20, or 0.2%, to $1,136 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper and platinum settled lower Tuesday but more thinly traded palladium managed to hold on to gains. Copper for May delivery lost a penny, or 0.4%, to settle at $3.6170 a pound.

Platinum for July delivery lost $5.30, or 0.3%, to end at $1,704.50 an ounce. Palladium for June delivery gained 50 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $508.50 an ounce. Palladium settled at its highest in more than two years Monday, while platinum prices on Monday closed at their highest level since July 2008. Both metals benefitted from Monday's round of good macro-economic news, drawing strength from their industrial as well as precious metals appeal. Physical demand, as well as inflationary and sovereign-credit concerns, worked to insulate gold prices from some profit taking and a stronger dollar. "We're still seeing physical demand…particularly out of Asia. The minute (gold) drops to around $1,120 we see some buying coming in," said Walter de Wet, an analyst with Commerzbank in Frankfurt. See full story.