Gold rose slightly on Tuesday as a weaker dollar stirred buying interest, but it failed to rally further after well-received US manufacturing data and relative peace in Egypt dampened the metal's safe-haven appeal.
Bullion was initially under pressure after a report showed that the US manufacturing sector grew at its fastest pace in nearly seven years in January and inflation data jumped more than expected as the world's biggest economy gained traction.
Signs of an improving economy boosted riskier investments such as equities at the expense of gold. US stocks rose 1.5 percent as the market's focus shifted to signs of economic strength and away from geopolitical concerns. Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,337.21 an ounce by 2:24 pm EST (1925 GMT). The precious metal rose as high as $1,343.25 an ounce.
US gold futures for April delivery settled up $5.80 an ounce to $1,340.30. Volume was lower than usual for a second day in a row, about one quarter less than its 30-day moving average. Open interest in the COMEX gold futures continued to decline sharply. Exchange data showed it fell 3 percent to about 465,000 lots, the lowest level since March 2010. Platinum rose 1.6 percent to $1,820.50 an ounce, while palladium gained 0.8 percent to $818.47. Silver climbed 1.4 percent to $28.43 an ounce.
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