Gold Ends Higher Despite A Strong Dollar, Upbeat Data

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended higher on Tuesday, notwithstanding rising global equity markets amid some upbeat durable goods and consumer confidence data from the U.S., even as the dollar trended higher against a select basket of major currencies.

In some upbeat economic news, orders for U.S. durable goods surged by a record 22.6 percent in July as Boeing signed a record number of contracts for new jets, a government report showed Tuesday.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence in the U.S. continued to improve for a fourth consecutive month in August, with the consumer confidence index jumping to its highest level in almost seven years, a Conference Board report showed Tuesday.

Nonetheless, geopolitical worries continued to plague the precious metal with the ongoing unrest in Ukraine and Libya contributing to bullion's rise.

Investors focused on developments in Ukraine and the Middle East, look ahead to the meeting of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Minsk in Belarus.

Meanwhile, news reports say Ukrainian forces have captured some Russian soldiers near the Donetsk region. In the Gaza Strip, Israel has stepped up pressure on Hamas, bombing two high-rise structures in the city.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $6.30 or 0.5 percent to close at $1,285.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.

Gold for December delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,291.90 and a low of $1,275.70 an ounce.

On Monday, gold futures ended lower on some strong global equity markets and amid uncertainty about a Fed rate hike after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen failed to provide any clarity on the issue at the Jackson Hole Symposium. Nonetheless, the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi was more forthright while indicating the ECB might come out with more stimulus if inflation dropped further.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, edged down to 797.09 tons on Tuesday from its previous close of 800.08 tons on Monday.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 82.65 on Tuesday, down from its previous close of 82.58 late Monday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 82.67 intraday and a low of 82.43.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.3169 on Tuesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3192 late Monday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.3214 intraday and a low of $1.3166.

In economic news from the U.S., a report from the Labor Department showed durable goods orders to have surged up by a much better than expected 22.6 percent in July, lifted by a record number of contracts for new jets from Boeing. However, excluding transportation, orders slumped 0.8 percent, against forecasts for an increase of 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, a report released by the Conference Board showed consumer confidence in the U.S. to have improved for the fourth consecutive month in August, with the index jumping to 92.4, the highest level since October 2007, from a revised 90.3 in July.

U.S. home prices in major cities continued to rise in June but at a slower pace than the previous month, the S&P/Case-Shiller's 20-city composite index data showed Tuesday.

Home prices were up 1 percent in June, following a 1.1 percent month-over-month increase in May. The result was in line with economist estimates. The pace of annual growth in home prices slowed to an 8.1 percent increase in June, compared with annual growth of 9.4 percent in May.

China's economy continued to expand in July at a steady pace, a survey from the Conference Board showed with as its leading index adding 1.3 percent. This follows the 1.3 percent increase in June and the 0.7 percent gain in May. The coincident index added 1.2 percent in July after gaining 0.9 percent in June and 0.7 percent in May.