Gold prices slipped slightly on Tuesday after giving back an early rally. December gold ended the session at $818.50, down $1 for the session. The metal reached as high as $833.50 earlier in the session.
Weakness in the U.S. dollar improved gold's hedge appeal. The dollar fell sharply for a third day versus the euro, dropping to a 3-week low of 1.3080. Against the sterling, the dollar slipped to a 2-week low of 1.5560, down 4 cents from its early highs.
That was offset by a sharp drop in crude oil prices. Light sweet crude for January delivery ended at $50.77, down $3.73 for the session. With the decline, oil returned a good portion of Monday's 9% surge.
Traders looked forward to the Energy Information Administration's weekly inventory data, which is due for release on Wednesday morning. Experts are expecting to see a build for the ninth straight week, this one about 1 million barrels.
In economic news, updated data showed that gross domestic product fell by 0.5 percent in the third quarter compared to the 0.3 percent decrease that was reported last month. The downward revision to GDP came in line with economists' expectations.
Later in the morning, the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 44.9 in November from a revised 38.8 in October. Economists had been expecting a more modest increase by the index to a reading of 39.5 compared to the 38.0 originally reported for the previous month.
Gold prices rallied again as traders flocked to the safety appeal of the precious metal amid another government bailout of a fallen financial giant. Gold for December delivery closed at $819.50, up $27.70 for the session. The metal touched as high as $830.10 in mid-day trading.
Gold gained $43.10 Friday to finish at $791.80 an ounce after reaching a high of $801.90 an ounce. With the strong upward move, the price of gold closed up $49.30 an ounce for the week, although it currently remains well off the record high of $1,033.90 an ounce that it set in March.
