Gold was nearly flat on Tuesday, with volume much lighter than average for a second consecutive day as investors were uncertain about whether central banks would act to stimulate sputtering economies. The metal traded in a tight range of less than $10 an ounce, swinging between slight gains and losses, as higher US equities, crude oil and the euro failed to attract much buying or selling of the precious metal.
Spot gold inched down 15 cents at $1,610.24 an ounce by 2:46 p.m. EDT (1846 GMT). US COMEX gold futures for December delivery settled down $3.40 an ounce at $1,612.80, with volume at below 80,000 lots, about half of its 30-day average at about 170,000 lots, preliminary Reuters showed. Among other precious metals, silver gained 0.9 percent to $28.12 an ounce. Spot platinum rose 0.7 percent at $1,405.74 an ounce and spot palladium was up 1.6 percent at $584.25 an ounce.