Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold and silver futures gained Tuesday as a weaker dollar and bargain-basement prices enticed investors back to precious metals. Silver overcame early weakness to settle higher as well, with the July contract gaining 67 cents, or 1.9%, to settle at $35.41 an ounce. The metal stumbled 4.4% in the previous session. �The relationship between a weaker dollar, higher gold, is holding,� said Bart Melek, an analyst with TD Securities in Toronto. Positive Chinese data and some aspects of U.S. data helped copper and other base metals, while disappointing auto sales hurt palladium and platinum, he added.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six currencies, traded at 74.322 from 74.501 in late North American trading on Monday. Platinum and palladium were the laggards of the day. Investors earlier contended with positive macroeconomic data from China. The country�s inflation accelerated within expectations, and industrial production and retail sales posted strong gains. See full story.