NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold rose Tuesday, trading above $980 an ounce as the dollar fell to the lowest level against the euro in more than five months, increasing gold's investment appeal.
The dollar also fell against other major rivals. The dollar index , which measures the performance of the greenback against a basket of global currencies, declined for a fourth-straight session. See Currencies.
Gains in gold, however, were limited by a report that showed pending sales of existing homes rose for the third month in a row in April. The upbeat housing data pushed stocks higher and reduced gold's appeal as a safe asset.
Gold for June delivery recently rose $2.50, or 0.3%, to $981.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The more active August contract also rose slightly to $982.30 an ounce.
Gold has risen 11% this year, with virtually all of the year-to-date gains made last month. May's appreciation of 9.8% marked the biggest monthly gain since November.
"In the short term, the U.S. dollar will be the driving factor for gold price movements," said analysts led by Barbara Lambrecht at Commerzbank, in a note. "In case of more dollar weakness, we could see the gold price breaking through the $1,000 an ounce threshold."
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust , the biggest gold exchange-traded fund, increased to 1,134.03 metric tons Monday, up 15.27 metric tons from a day ago, according to latest data from the fund. It's the first rise in six sessions.
In other metals, copper for July delivery fell 0.2%, to $2.315 a pound.
Silver for July delivery gained 0.7% to $15.845 an ounce. July platinum slid 0.1% to $1,219.80 an ounce, while September palladium contract rose 1.3% to $247 an ounce.
