Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained slightly on Tuesday as dollar went down, fueling gold's safety appeal. Platinum also finished higher, but silver dropped. Gold price for June delivery was up 7.30 U.S. dollars, or 0.8 percent, to settle at 925 dollars an ounce. May silver closed at 12.985 dollars per ounce, down 4.8 cents. July platinum rose 8 dollars to 1,128.80 dollars per ounce. A weak dollar in the early session, whose rate against euro fell to as low as 1.3335 dollars, far away from the highest level of 1.3123 dollars on Monday, gave much support to gold. The precious metal regained safe-haven appeal to hedge the dollar risk. Gloomy economic data released in the day also made gold more attractive to investors. According a report released by the Institute for Supply Management, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index fell to 31.4 in March from 34.2 in February. Economists had been expecting the index to edge up to 34.3. The index below 50 indicates a contraction in the sector. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 26.0 in March from a record low of 25.3 in February. However, economists had been expecting a more significant increase to 28.0.

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