Gold prices rose for the first time in six days on Tuesday as stock markets beat a retreat after a series of record highs on Wall Street. New York-traded gold futures settled up while the spot price of bullion remained positive in late afternoon trade despite US economic data showing a third straight month of gains for new factory orders, which should have been bullish for equities.
By 3:45 pm EDT (1945 GMT), the spot price of bullion was a touch higher than Monday's close, trading 0.1 percent up at $1,245.68 an ounce. It initially fell to a new four-month low of $1,240.61, threatening to extend the decline of the past five sessions, which marked longest losing streak in nearly seven months. US gold futures for August delivery settled up 0.4 percent, or 50 cents, at $1244.50 an ounce. Among other precious metals, platinum slid 0.3 percent to $1,425.53 an ounce. Palladium rose 0.7 percent to $834.80 an ounce amid news that striking mine employees in major producer South Africa were considering a government offer to end a five-month work stoppage. Silver climbed 0.4 percent to $18.78 an ounce.