CHICAGO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose after falls for four straight trading days on negative economic figures Tuesday.
The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 7.9 dollars, or 0.48 percent, to settle at 1,660.8 dollars per ounce.
Downbeat economic data released Tuesday support gold.
The Conference Board reported that its gauge of consumer confidence dropped to 58.6 in January, the lowest level since November 2011; and the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite posted a non-seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent decrease in November following a 0.2 percent decline in October. After seasonal adjustments, the 20-city home-price index rose 0.6 percent in November.
A weak dollar also support gold. The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of major currencies came to 79.595, down from 79.790 Monday.
The Federal Open Market Committee began a two-day meeting reviewing the economy and interest rates Tuesday, and is expected to make an announcement on the monetary policy Wednesday. There are speculations that the Fed will continue with its monetary stimulus policy.
Strong gains for major global equity indexes and risk-oriented assets since the beginning of the year have somehow tarnished the safe-haven status. Despite Tuesday's rise, gold prices have lost nearly one percent since the start of January 2013.
Silver for March delivery gained 40.4 cents, or 1.31 percent, to close at 31.184 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery rose 16.7 dollars, or one percent, to close at 1,678.9 dollars per ounce.
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