Gold futures rose slightly in tug-of-war trading early Tuesday, moving back toward $910 an ounce after falling below $900 overnight, as a weakening dollar attracted buyers.
Gold for February delivery was up $2.30, or 0.3%, at $909 an ounce in North America electronic trading. It fell to as low as $896.40 overnight. The front-month contract ended at the highest level in six months on Friday.
Trading more actively, gold for March delivery also rose, up 0.4% to $910.70 an ounce.
Meanwhile, the benchmark copper contract erased Monday's losses and then some.
Traders taking profits forced gold prices back below the $900-an-ounce level overnight, but other investors quickly stepped in, sensing the opportunity for bargain hunting, according to analysts at Action Economics.
The dollar eased in foreign-exchange trading, with the dollar index down 0.2% at 85.987. See Currencies.
A weakening dollar tends to increase gold's appeal as an investment alternative.
Safe-haven demand for gold has been rising as recent data points have served to deepen investors' worries about prospects for the economy.
Holdings the SPDR Gold Trust , the largest exchange-traded gold fund, reached an all-time high on Monday, hitting 853.37 tons. That's almost 10 tons higher than a day earlier.
"The long-term investment demand through the gold ETFs is extraordinarily high and likely to rise still further," said Julian Phillips, editor at GoldForecaster.com.
Gold prices have risen about 3% this year, comparing favorably with an 8.6% drop in the S&P 500 equity benchmark and a 10% decline in crude-oil futures.
In other metals action Tuesday, March copper rose 3.2% to $1.476 a pound, while March silver lost 0.2% to $12.395 an ounce. March palladium fell 1.1% to $196.25 an ounce, while the April contract for sister metal platinum dropped 0.4% to $975 an ounce.
