Gold Ends Slightly Lower

Aside from platinum, there was little movement in precious metals on Tuesday. New York silver, gold and platinum futures fell 0.65 percent, 0.04 percent and 1.84 percent, respectively.

After five consecutive session losses, February crude-oil mustered a small gain, rising 19 cents, or 0.5 percent, to close to $37.79 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration forecasted weaker oil demand throughout the year, with prices averaging $43 per barrel in 2009 and $55 in 2010.

AAA reported that the average price for regular unleaded gasoline remained unchanged at $1.79 a gallon.

March silver dropped 7 cents to close at $10.68 an ounce.

April platinum fell $17.90 to end at $956 an ounce. China said its car sales fell 8 percent in December from the previous year. The largest demand for platinum comes from the auto industry. It uses the metal in catalytic converters.

Gold for February declined 30 cents to settle at $820.70 an ounce.

"At the end of the day, neither oil nor gold were able to hang on to all of their earlier gains and tilted into unchanged-to-negative territory once again in the mid-afternoon hours," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers.

"As of now, all but $15 of December’s gains in bullion’s value have now been given up this month, and two-thirds of this drop was recorded in yesterday’s session alone," added Nadler.

Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.

Check out CoinNews market resources at Live Bullion Spots, the Silver Coin Calculator, U.S. Mint Collector Bullion Coin Prices, and the Inflation Calculator.