NEW YORK (AFX) - Gold and silver futures staged a short-covering rally into the close Tuesday, boosted by geopolitical tensions surrounding North Korea and a fading U.S. dollar.
August gold settled up $8.10 at $580.50 a troy ounce. July silver added 30 cents to $10.27 an ounce.
Some buying interest was prompted when North Korea maintained that it has full autonomy to conduct missile tests, said Jim Quinn, commodity floor analyst with A.G. Edwards.
'Also, the dollar weakened very late in the session,' he said.
Quinn added that it appears a number of market participants have begun to view the $570 level as a value area for gold.
Since hitting a two-month low Wednesday, August gold has been in a range of $546.40 to $589.
'People believe we could see a consolidation phase through mid-August, which is traditionally the case,' said Gijsbert Groenewegen, managing partner with Gold Arrow Capital Management.
Nevertheless, the market is closely watching economic and political events, which could precipitate a big move sooner, he added.
July platinum gained $30.70 to $1,168.50 an ounce, while September palladium added $8.90 to $304 an ounce.
The benchmark July copper contract settled 1.90 cents higher at $3.1715 per pound. September copper rose 0.35 cent at $3.0920 per pound.
The July crude oil contract fell 4 cents to $68.94 a barrel. The more active August contract lost 21 cents to close at $69.34 a barrel.
July gasoline rose 1.11 cents to $2.0025 a gallon. July heating oil added 1.26 cents to $1.9074 a gallon.
July natural gas fell 39.1 cents to settle at $6.502 a million British thermal units.
On the New York Board of Trade, July Arabica coffee ended 0.50 cent higher at 95.45 cents a pound and September gained 0.20 cent to 97.45 cents.
The front-month July cocoa contract settled unchanged at $1,527 a metric ton. September finished the day down $5 at $1,528 a metric ton.
Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports surged to two-week highs as funds bought October. Trade houses bought July and the July-October spread before next week's expiry. July settled up 0.36 cent at 15.21 cents a pound while October rose 0.39 cent to 15.58 cents a pound.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, July corn settled unchanged at $2.2975 per bushel. July soybeans ended 0.75 cent higher at $5.8525 a bushel. September wheat ended up 8.50 cents at $3.8475 a bushel.
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