Gold News & Info

Source: Marketwatch.com

San Francisco— Gold futures climbed a few cents Tuesday, but that was enough to mark their highest closing level in three weeks after the previous three sessions added $13 to the precious metal's value.

Gold for December delivery rose 10 cents to close at $448.60 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange — a level not seen since Aug. 16. Earlier, prices traded at a high of $450.30, even after gaining more than $6 last week.

Overall, "with gold overbought and the U.S. dollar oversold in the near term, healthy bouts of profit-taking in gold can be expected," said Peter Grandich, editor of the Grandich Letter

Still, "the surprise could be how short-lived the consolidation can be and how quickly gold challenges the old highs around $455," he added. Gold was last at $455 in mid-March.

"Currency watching" will continue to drive intraday movements for gold, said James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London.

At last check, the dollar was higher against more foreign currencies. A stronger dollar tends to ease demand for gold, which is denominated in dollars, but the greenback's strength was minor.

"The dollar's long-term prospects are still in question as [oil prices] remain high and many areas in the [southern] United States have been left in turmoil in the wake of Hurricane Katrina," Moore told clients.

"Support/resistance should continue to be found at $440/$448, although a correction lower is still a risk due to the large speculative long positions," he said.

Elsewhere on the metals futures market, December copper closed down 1.25 cents at $1.661 a pound. The September contract traded at a record Friday near $1.77.

December silver closed up 2.3 cents at $7.098 an ounce. The December contract for palladium closed down 60 cents at $185.20 an ounce, while October platinum lost 10 cents to end at $911.40 an ounce.

Tracking inventories, copper supplies were up 87 short tons at 9,606 short tons as of late Friday, according to Nymex. Silver stocks were up 2,002 troy ounces at 115.6 million troy ounces, while gold inventories stood at 6 million troy ounces, down 228 troy ounces from the previous session.