In the early morning of Beijing time on the 1st, gold futures closed higher on Tuesday, and prices rose slightly this month. Gold prices were supported by data released on Tuesday showing that US consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in six months.

Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco.com, said gold rose on "pessimistic US economic data" because of weakness in consumer confidence and the Chicago Purchasing managers' Index (PMI) in July and August.

The U.S. Economic Advisory Bureau reported Tuesday that the U.S. consumer confidence index fell to 113.8 in August from a revised 125.1 in July. Another data showed that the Chicago purchasing managers' index fell to 66.8 in August from 73.4 in July.

Gold futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $5.90, or 0.3%, to close at $1818.10 an ounce. In terms of the most active contracts, gold futures are up less than $1 from their closing price of $1817.20 on July 30.

Silver futures for December delivery closed flat at $24.01 an ounce. The price of silver futures is down 6% this month.