CHICAGO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar fell.
The most active gold contract for December delivery rose 7.1 U.S. dollars, or 0.39 percent, to close at 1,812.3 dollars per ounce.
This is the highest settlement price for gold since June 29.
Gold found additional support as the U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday that the U.S. nonfarm worker productivity fell 4.6 percent annually in the second quarter, the steepest fall on an annual basis since 1948. Meanwhile, the productivity report showed that U.S. unit labor costs increased 10.6 percent in the second quarter, worse than expected.
Nevertheless, the National Federation of Independent Business reported Tuesday that its Small Business Optimism Index climbed to 89.9 in July from 89.5 in the previous month, capping gold's growth somewhat.
Investors are also waiting for the release of the consumer price index, another key measurement of inflation, on Wednesday.
Silver for September delivery fell 13.2 cents, or 0.64 percent, to close at 20.482 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery fell 5.4 dollars, or 0.58 percent, to close at 933 dollars per ounce.