Gold up on weaker U.S. dollar, inflation data

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar showed weakness, along with new U.S. inflation data.

The most active gold contract for December delivery rose 6.3 U.S. dollars, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 1,262.9 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. dollar spent most of the day at a lower level due to a technical bounce in the United Kingdom's pound after several days of extensive weakness due to the Brexit. The U.S. Dollar Index had fallen by 0.01 to 97.87 as of 1845 GMT.

The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.

Traders are waiting for the release of housing starts on Wednesday, along with the weekly jobless claims, existing home sales, and the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey on Thursday.

Strength in U.S. equities prevented the precious metal from rising further as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 88 points, or 0.49 percent as of 1845 GMT. Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.

Silver for December delivery rose 16.4 cents, or 0.94 percent, to close at 17.638 dollars per ounce. Platinum for 2017 January delivery added 10.3 dollars, or 1.1 percent, to close at 946.5 dollars per ounce. Endit