Investing.com - Gold futures were up sharply in North America trade on Tuesday, rebounding from the prior session’s losses as an improvement in market sentiment ran out of steam, supporting appetite for safe-haven assets.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped $13.60, or 1.12%, to trade at $1,223.70 a troy ounce by 13:45GMT, or 8:45AM ET.
A day earlier, gold prices sank $20.70, or 1.68%, as the metal’s safe-haven appeal was dented amid a recovery in oil prices and global equity markets.
Market players looked ahead to key U.S. economic data later in the day to gauge if the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand further rate hikes in 2016. The Conference Board will publish data on February consumer confidence at 15:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET, while January existing home sales is due at the same time.
Traders are also awaiting comments from a range of Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday for further indications on the path of future rate hikes. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer and Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan are all scheduled to speak throughout the day.
Gold prices have been well-supported in recent weeks amid growing speculation the Fed could delay the pace of its tightening for the remainder of 2016.
Prices of the yellow metal soared to a one-year high of $1,263.90 on February 11. Gold is up nearly 16% so far this year amid indications global economic and financial headwinds could make it tough for the Fed to raise interest rates as much as it would like this year.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery tacked on 9.1 cents, or 0.6%, to trade at $15.27 a troy ounce during morning hours in New York.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures retreated from a more than two-week high on Tuesday, but losses were limited amid mounting expectations for further stimulus measures from central banks in Europe and Asia.