Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures settled modestly higher Wednesday in a late reversal as lower prices enticed buyers and the dollar weakened further. Gold for February delivery added $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,385.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange after trading as low as $1,376.30 an ounce. The metal spent most of the day under pressure after concerns about Europe eased. Portugal�s successful bond auction and other developments in Europe had dampened traders� sentiment to buy the metal for safe-haven purposes.

But investors then likely snapped up gold at the day�s lower prices after two days of gains, said Michael K. Smith, president of T&K Futures and Options Inc. in Florida. Short-term prospects for gold are bleaker, however, as the metal �went a little too far ahead of itself in this latest rally,� he said. Concerns about Europe eased somewhat as Portugal sold 1.25 billion euros ($1.62 billion) of government bonds Wednesday, proving it can still access the markets � at least for now. See full story.