MW: Gold rises for third day on inflation concern, dollar weakness
By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures made early gains Tuesday, rising for a third session, as inflation concerns and a weaker dollar raised the metal's investment appeal.
Gold for February delivery was last up $3.80, or 0.3%, at $1,122.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In currencies trading, the U.S. dollar fell against the euro and the Japanese yen, with the dollar index (DXY 77.42, -0.10, -0.13%) down 0.2% at 77.391.
"The weaker dollar and broad commodity gains should continue to push gold higher in the coming sessions," said James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.
Meanwhile "the market should continue to be underpinned by investment and physical dip buying," he wrote in a research note.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 109.85, +0.05, +0.05%) , the biggest gold exchange-traded fund, fell to 1,128.75 metric tons as of Monday, down 4.87 metric tons from the end of last year.
Investors await data on pending home sales and factory orders due later Tuesday morning, on the heels of a Monday survey showing the U.S. manufacturing sector ramping up production. Recent economic reports showed the global economy is recovering.
Some investors worry that economic recovery could bring higher inflation. Gold is seen as a hedge against rising prices.
In other metals Tuesday, March silver rose 0.7% to $17.585 an ounce and March palladium added 0.2% to $422.30 an ounce while April platinum was flat at $1,523.80 an ounce.
