Gold rose for a third day on Tuesday, fuelled by a weaker dollar and doubts that the Greek debt crisis was completely resolved even after the government survived a late night confidence vote, as expected.
Bullion was little changed immediately after the vote result just prior to 6 pm EDT (2200 GMT), suggesting investors were looking further ahead toward an even tougher test next week when the government seeks parliamentary approval for new, deeply unpopular spending cuts and tax hikes.
Spot gold traded at $1,547.30 an ounce as of 6:13 pm EDT (2213 GMT), up by about 80 cents prior to the vote. US August gold futures settled up $4.40 at $1,546.40 an ounce on Tuesday, after trading between $1,539.30 and $1,549. Volume was below 90,000 lots, Reuters preliminary data shows, set for one of the lowest daily volume of the year and about 60 percent below its 30-day average. Silver touched $36.54 an ounce, its highest since June 10, and was last up 1.4 percent at $36.51. Among platinum group metals, platinum was up 1 percent at $1,743.74 an ounce, and palladium gained 2.8 percent to $764.72 an ounce.