US gold futures rose early Tuesday as the market consolidated near an 18-year peak, with bullish speculators still lifting prices despite a strong dollar and crude oil well off recent highs, dealers said.
By 10:28 am EDT, most-active December delivery gold rose $1.50 to $479.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, in a range of $477.40 to $480.40.
Inflation and geopolitical concerns have made the metal more attractive to investors over the last few years, due to its role as a classic safe-haven asset.
Monday's session high at $482 was the loftiest level for COMEX gold futures since January 1988.
Dips in price recently have been seen mostly as a buying opportunity for funds to add to their long positions, rather than as a signal for traders to sell, traders said.
Bullion hit an almost 18-year peak at $478.50 early Monday. Many market players expect gold soon to test resistance levels at $480, $482 and $485 before eventually marching toward $500.
Dealers have said gold was technically vulnerable to profit taking and long liquidation, due to the huge fund exposure on COMEX and a big commercial short stance, but no big sell-off has occurred yet.
Spot gold rose to $475.50/476.30 an ounce, against $474.80/5.50 at Monday's New York close. Tuesday's London afternoon fix set by bullion dealers was $475.50.
In other precious metals, silver edged up near a 10-month peak, while platinum carved out a high last seen in January and palladium traded to a six-month peak.
December silver inched up 1.0 cent to $7.855 an ounce, dealing from $7.78 to $7.87.
Monday's peak at $789 was silver's priciest since last December and traders have said it has taken aim at the $8 level. Spot silver fetched $7.79/82 an ounce, from $7.78/7.81. The fix was at $7.76.
On the board at NYMEX, January platinum shed 10 cents to $942 an ounce. Still, futures are at near their highest since January. Spot platinum was at $936/939.
December palladium was up $1.45 at $212 an ounce. Spot palladium touched $206/209.
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