By April H. Lee, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold rose Tuesday as China outlined plans to support the growth of its bullion market, the dollar fell further, and Asian buyers moved into the market. Gold for December delivery, the most active contract, was up $3.40, or 0.3%, at $1,188.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. "This could be the beginning of a turnaround in prices and potentially the beginning of another leg up for gold," said Scott Meyers, a senior trading analyst with the Pioneer Futures Division of MF Global. Gold has posted gains in the last five straight sessions, after settling at $1,158 an ounce July 27, hitting a three-month low. Prices above the key psychological mark of $1,200 may take a while to come, with the market most likely trading sideways for most of the month, Meyers said. Gold last closed above $1,200 in mid July. Unless there's a "shake up or sell-off for stocks, "there's no panic buying" supporting gold prices, he added. Prices for the metal picked up some steam after a pair of morning reports on the U.S. economic discouraged investors and sent stocks lower. U.S. factory orders declined 1.2% in June and the pending home sales index fell 2.6% to 75.7 also in June. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Commerce Department reported weaker-than-expected figures showing that personal income was flat in June, stagnant for the first time in a year, while sluggish consumer spending met economist expectations. Read more about the report here. Copper, widely used in construction, was down for the first time this month. Copper for September delivery lost 4 cents, or 1.3%, to $3.35 a pound. Copper rallied 3% on Monday after gaining 12% in July. Other metals were mixed, with platinum falling below the $1,600 mark and palladium also losing ground. Silver, however, tracked gold, with the September contract adding 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $18.45 an ounce. Platinum for October delivery fell $8.20, or 0.5%, to $1,594 an ounce. Platinum hit a two-month high on Monday. September palladium, which also hit a two-month high on Monday, retreated $5.90, or 1.1%, to $509.95 an ounce. China announced on Tuesday moves to broaden its gold market, including letting more banks to import and export gold and creating more yuan-denominated gold derivatives. Read more about China's announcement here. Last year all of the key gold consuming nations saw a sharp drop in jewelry consumption with the exception of China, analysts at Barclays Capital said in a note to clients. A weakened U.S. dollar also supported prices. The dollar remained weak following cautious statements by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in the last session, said analysts at Commerzbank in a note Tuesday. Read more about the dollar's move here. The dollar index (DXY 80.55, -0.38, -0.47%) fell to 80.63, down about 0.3% for the day. Prices were also boosted by rising physical purchases, ahead of the festival season in India and the Ramadan fasting month in Muslim countries, Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg said. "The seasonal weakness regarding gold should soon be over," he noted. "We expect prices of gold to rise again in the medium term."

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