Gold settles higher as U.S. dollar tries to rally

CHICAGO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange inched higher on Wednesday as the weakening U.S. dollar tried to rebound.

The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 2.1 dollars, or 0.16 percent, to close at 1339.20 dollars per ounce, reaching a new high since last September.

The gold has gained for five days in a row as the U.S. dollar failed to see much of a bounce back from recent lows.

The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, fell 0.17 percent to 90.25 as of 1857 GMT.

Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes down, gold futures will rise.

However, in the following electronic trading, the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book offered some support to the dollar. The report said the pace of U.S. economic growth continues to be "modest to moderate."

The rally of U.S. dollar after the settlement of gold futures pressured the precious metal, which started a downturn during the electronic trading.

As for other precious metals, silver for March delivery fell 2.3 cents, or 0.13 percent, to settle at 17.166 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April went up 6 dollars, or 0.60 percent, to close at 1,010.90 dollars per ounce. Enditem