CHICAGO, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange went up moderately on Wednesday amid geopolitical tension and decreasing factory orders.
The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 2.5 U.S. dollars, or 0.21 percent, to settle at 1,221.70 dollars per ounce, following an eight-week low settlement for the previous session.
Geopolitical risks have lingered after the latest missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on July 4, the U.S. Independence Day.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the test launch "a new escalation of the threat" to the United States. In response, the United States and South Korea staged a missile drill by firing missiles into the Sea of Japan on the same day.
Apart from the geopolitical tension, poor performance of U.S. production was another factor that has kept the gold in the positive territory again.
New orders for manufactured goods in May, down two consecutive months, decreased 3.7 billion dollars or 0.8 percent to 464.9 billion dollars, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday. This followed a 0.3 percent decrease in April.
However, the rise of gold was limited as the U.S. dollar Index went up by 0.05 percent to 96.30 as of 1700 GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of other major currencies. When the dollar goes up, gold futures usually fall.
As for other precious metals, silver for September delivery declined by 19.6 cents, or 1.22 percent, to close at 15.896 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery rose 2.70 dollars, or 0.30 percent, to close at 908.80 dollars per ounce.
