Gold prices end higher, hold at four-month high

MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures closed higher on Tuesday, holding ground at their highest level since late October as disappointing data on U.S. consumer confidence helped lure investors the perceived safety of the metal. The consumer confidence data suggest that the recovery is becoming fragile, said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. But we need to look beyond February data to claim anything along this line because the bad weather has its stamp all over it for the time being. April gold rose $4.70, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,342.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices gained 1.1% on Monday.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.