From Chris Mullen at GoldSeek...

Spot gold prices traded mostly slightly higher in Asia and London on Tuesday before falling in mid-morning New York trade to as low as $651.20 per ounce.

The gold market rebounded slightly in thin afternoon trade, but it sill ended with a loss of 0.50%. Silver dropped to as low as $12.40 before it rebounded over 1% off its low and ended with a loss of 0.24%.

The gold price in Euros fell to about €480, platinum gained $2 to $1,294, palladium lost $4 to $367 and copper gained a couple of cents to about $3.56.

Gold and silver equities traded in a tight range on either side of unchanged and ended with small losses.

In the economy, Pending Home Sales in the US fell 13.3% in May compared to a year earlier, down to the lowest level since September, 2001. Also making economic news was a retail sales report saying that consumer spending was slow, choppy, and uncertain.

Factory orders for May, the trigger for gold's drop, fell 0.5% from April, better than expected. There are no major economic reports due out today. The US markets are closed for the Fourth of July holiday.

In the broader markets, oil rose on fresh terrorism worries in the UK and abroad, as wee as on refinery concerns in the face of strong demand during the US summer driving season.

The US Dollar index rebounded from steep losses in the previous two sessions. Currency traders looked ahead to the Bank of England’s meeting on Thursday, when it is expected to raise UK rates to 5.75%.

Treasury bonds fell after the Factory Orders report, pushing the 10-year yield back above 5%. The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P rose on more takeover news.