Gold futures on Tuesday marked a second gain in a row, extending a climb to the highest price in about a week.
Traders continued to monitor developments tied to the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil-infrastructure as they shifted focus to the Federal Reserve decision Wednesday on interest rates.
Gold and silver prices initially saw "some corrective pressure following Monday's gains," said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco.com.
"Still, look for more safe-haven demand in the near term, after the weekend terrorist drone strike that crippled Saudi Arabia's oil industry," he said in a note. "The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are not likely to just sit on their hands, which will keep anxiety in the world marketplace."
December gold GCZ19, -1.22% on Comex tacked on $1.90, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,513.40 an ounce, after a 0.8% gain on Monday. Prices for the most-active contract marked their highest settlement since Sept. 6 for a second straight session, FactSet data show.
Silver for December delivery SIZ19, -1.08% added 11.4 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $18.14 an ounce, after a 2.6% rally on Monday.
Gold's modest moves come as a response to the Saudi energy attacks appear unlikely to result in near-term retaliatory measures from Riyadh or Washington. The Wall Street Journal on Monday said U.S. intelligence forces shared evidence that Iran was involved in the Saturday attack on Saudi Aramco's oil-processing facilities. Iran has denied any involvement in the weekend strike. Saudi officials said there wasn't sufficient evidence to definitively blame Tehran.
"Gold prices are showing signs of stabilizing, suggesting the markets are looking to establish a new price floor," wrote Stephen Innes, an independent market analyst, wrote in a daily research note. "It appears conviction remains positive so long as gold hangs around $1,500," he said.
Markets are slowly shifting focus to central-bank policy, with the Federal Reserve will conclude its two-day policy gathering on Wednesday, with its monetary policy statement. The Fed is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of 1.75% to 2%, marking the second rate cut this year, and Chairman Jerome Powell is likely to outline reasons for not signaling a full easing cycle, which could influence trade in assets including gold.
Ahead of Wednesday's policy statement, U.S. economic data were upbeat, with industrial production up 0.6% in August, the largest gain in a year and the home-builder confidence index up one point to 68 in September.
Declines in global equity markets ahead of policy decisions from the central bank provided some support for bullion, market participants said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.13% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.03% fell on Tuesday and stocks in Europe ended mostly lower, suggesting that appetite for assets perceived as risky were still being held in check.
See: 3 things to watch as Fed meets on interest rates
Elsewhere on Comex, December copper HGZ19, -0.02% fell 1.4 cents, or 0.5%, to $2.627 a pound, extending the 2.2% loss from a day earlier. October platinum PLV19, -0.60% gained $5, or 0.5%, to $944.20 an ounce and December palladium PAZ19, -0.35% rose $5.50, or 0.4%, to $1,597.70 an ounce.