CHICAGO, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar dropped and equities weakened, drawing investors' attention to the precious metal.
The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 0.5 U.S. dollars, or 0.04 percent, to settle at 1,246.90 dollars per ounce.
Early Tuesday, gold had found some underpinning as geopolitics clouded trade, lifting the short-term attraction of haven investments including the yellow metal. The Trump administration on Monday night accused the Syrian government of preparing another chemical weapons attack, and threatened the Syrian military to "pay a heavy price" if an attack was carried out.
The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.9 percent as of 1930 GMT and weakness in the greenback tends to boost demand for dollar-priced gold from investors using another currency.
However, U.S. data Tuesday showing a larger-than-expected rise to 118.9 in the consumer confidence index helped fuel a decline in gold and silver from the session's highs.
As for other precious metals, silver for July delivery went up 1.6 cents, or 0.1 percent, to close at 16.588 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery added 2.1 dollars, or 0.23 percent, to settle at 918.7 dollars per ounce. Enditem
