Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended moderately higher on Tuesday, after fluctuating between small gains and losses, as increasing market confidence in Euro-zone officials'efforts to stem the spread of the region's debt crisis fueled risk appetite and pushed gold prices higher.

The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 4.4 dollars, or 0.3 percent, to 1,718.9 dollars per ounce.

Italy sold 7.5 billion euros (10 billion dollars) worth of bonds on Tuesday, a trader mentioned that euro had received some support from investor relief that Italy managed to sell government bonds to the market even though it was forced to pay record high auction yields.

The stronger euro helped to lift gold price, as dollar- denominated commodities appear more appealing to holders of other currencies when the greenback falls in value. "Today's Gold trade covered a very quiet 14.10 dollar range as traders may be waiting on Thursday's economic data as well as Friday's unemployment data prior to forming their trading strategies", said Mike Daly, a gold specialist with PFGbest in Chicago.

Daly pointed out that higher crude oil prices helped to support higher gold prices, as January Crude oil traded as high as 100.15 dollars per barrel, partly due to geo-political tensions in Iran.

Silver for March delivery pared 29.2 cents, or 0.9 percent, to 31.95 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery added 1.2 dollars, or 0.1 percent, to 1,540.7 dollars per ounce.

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