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CHICAGO, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Tuesday as U.S. equities weakened.
The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 0.6 U.S. dollars, or 0.05 percent, to settle at 1,185.50 dollars per ounce.
The precious metal was given support as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 11 points, or 0.06 percent, as of 1845 GMT. Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.
Gold was prevented from rising further as the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, rose by 0.18 percent to 102.02 as of 1855 GMT.
Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.
The precious metal was put under pressure as the job openings and labor turnover survey released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday showed job openings increasing to 5.522 million during November, up from 5.451 million in October.
Analysts have described this report as solid, which hints at a stronger employment sector, something that the U.S. Federal Reserve looks for when raising interest rates.
Investors believe the Fed may raise rates from 0.75 to 1.00 during the March FOMC meeting at the earliest. According to the CME Group's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to at least 0.75 is at 2 percent at the February meeting and 24 percent at the March meeting.
The long-term outlook for gold remains weak as analysts believe the U.S. economy remains relatively strong.
Investors are looking to a light week for economic reports, with weekly jobless claims on Thursday, and the producer price index, retail sales, and consumer sentiment report due on Friday.
Silver for March delivery rose 16.5 cents, or 0.99 percent, to close at 16.848 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery added 0.2 dollars, or 0.02 percent, to close at 982.80 dollars per ounce.
