Gold Ends Higher, Above $1,200

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended modestly higher Tuesday, on low trading volumes after markets closed early due to Christmas. The dollar trended higher against a basket of major currencies after some mixed economic data out of the U.S.

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose much more than expected in November, with the increase partly reflecting a rebound in orders for transportation equipment, a Commerce Department report showed Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a Commerce Department report on Tuesday showed new home sales in the U.S. to have dropped in November, although were still better than what analysts anticipated.

Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $6.30 or 0.5 percent to close at $1,203.30 an ounce Tuesday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for February delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,205.10 and a low of $1,195.50 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold settled lower as investors continued to mull over the implications of the U.S. Federal Reserve move to begin tapering of its massive quantitative easing program beginning January 2014.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, was at 805.72 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.51 on Tuesday, up from 80.45 late Monday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.62 intraday and a low of 80.43.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3679 on Tuesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3696 late Monday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3712 intraday and a low of $1.3656.

In economic news from the U.S., a Commerce Department report on Tuesday showed a drop in new home sales in November, although sales were still above economist estimates due to an upward revision to the October data. New home sales fell 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 in November from the revised October rate of 474,000. Economists expected sales to climb up to 450,000 from the 444,000 originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose much more than expected in November, a report from the Commerce Department revealed Tuesday. Durable goods orders in November surged 3.5 percent following a revised 0.7 percent decrease in October. Economists expected orders to increase by about 2.0 percent compared to the 1.6 percent drop reported for the previous month. The increase partly reflects a rebound in orders for transportation equipment, which surged 8.4 percent in November after tumbling 3.5 percent in October.

From Europe, U.K. mortgage approvals increased significantly in November as housing schemes boosted demand from first-time buyers, data from British Bankers' Association revealed Tuesday. Mortgages approved in November for house purchases increased to 45,044 from 43,315 in October, exceeding the expected level of 44,400.

A leading indicator of eurozone's economic activity increased further in November, signaling improvement in the region's growth prospects. The Conference Board's leading economic index increased 0.5 percent month-on-month to 110.4. This comes after a 0.4 percent increase in October and a 0. 5 percent rise in September.