Gold, silver higher on inflation worries

Precious metals prices saw gains on Tuesday.

Gold and silver prices advanced as investors looked for a place to put their money that is safe from the inflation after US producer prices were up in new data from the Labor Department and the Conference Board said that consumer confidence is on the decline.

April gold was $8.80 higher near the end of floor trade in New York to $949.30 per troy ounce, while March silver jumped 64 cents to $18.72 per troy ounce.

Platinum overcame early losses, with April contracts adding $2.40 to $2,155.90 in afternoon trade.

The early declines came on the possibility that a planned sale of some International Monetary fund gold reserves could hurt demand for precious metals.

Among base metals, copper was also down early but later gained on the possibility of increased demand from China and other emerging markets.

May copper added 4 cents to $3.79 per pound in New York while three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained $85 to $8,285 per tonne.