Investing.com - Gold prices were little changed on Tuesday, as price moves were muted amid light trading volume during a holiday-shortened week.
Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 70 cents, or 0.07%, to trade at $1,069.00 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours. A day earlier, gold dipped $7.60, or 0.71%.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence rose to 96.5 this month from a reading of 92.6 in November, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 90.4. Analysts expected the index to rise to 93.8 in December.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the goods trade deficit widened to $60.50 billion last month from $58.41 billion in October. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to widen to $60.90 billion in November.
The data came after mixed U.S. economic reports released last week failed to offer clues as to how fast the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates next year.
With the first U.S. rate hike since 2006 out of the way, investors are now focusing on the pace of future rate increases.
Gold is on track to post an annual decline of approximately 10% in 2015, the third yearly loss in a row, as speculation over the timing of a Fed rate hike dominated market sentiment for most of the year.
Meanwhile, silver futures for March delivery climbed 12.1 cents, or 0.87%, to trade at $14.00 a troy ounce. Silver is on track to post an annual decline of nearly 10% in 2015.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper jumped 6.7 cents, or 3.2%, to $2.146 a pound. The sharp gain was likely related to thin year-end trade accentuating fluctuations.
The red metal is on track to post an annual decline of almost 30% in 2015 as fears of a China-led global economic slowdown spooked traders and rattled sentiment.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 45% of world consumption.