Investing.com - Gold prices posted cautious gains in U.S. trading on Tuesday after a soft report on U.S. consumer confidence weakened the dollar, though a robust economic growth report capped the precious metal's gains.
Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely with one another.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery were up 0.14% at $1,198.30, up from a session low of $1,190.60 and off a high of $1,203.00.
The February contract settled down 0.15% at $1,196.60 on Monday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,174.70 a troy ounce, last Wednesday's low, and resistance at $1,208.20, Friday's high.
The Conference Board market research group reported earlier that consumer confidence index fell to 88.7 this month from a 94.1 in October, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported 94.5.
Analysts expected the index to increase to 95.9 in November, and the surprise deterioration sent investors selling the greenback for profits, wiping out recent gains stemming from expectations for U.S. monetary policy to diverge from Europe and Asia.
The Present Situation Index declined from 94.4 to 91.3, while the Expectations Index decreased sharply to 87.0 from 93.8 in October.
Commenting on the report, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center Lynn Franco said, “consumers were somewhat less positive about current business conditions and the present state of the job market; moreover, their optimism in the short-term outlook in both areas has waned."
Earlier Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.9% in the third quarter, topping expectations for a reading of 3.3%.
Preliminary data initially pegged U.S. growth at 3.5% in the third quarter. The U.S. economy expanded by 4.6% in the preceding quarter.
The data showed personal consumption rose 2.2% in the third quarter, beating expectations for a 1.9% gain and up from a preliminary estimate of 1.8%.
Consumer spending typically accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic growth.
Tuesday's mixed data sent the greenback falling on profit taking.
The dollar has rallied in recent weeks while gold has slumped on expectations for U.S. monetary policy to grow less accommodative while European and Asian central banks move in the opposite direction.
Elsewhere, silver for March delivery was up 0.97% at $16.595 a troy ounce, while copper futures for March delivery were down 0.97% at $2.977 a pound.