Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained by a large margin Tuesday on the U.S. presidential election day.

The most active gold contract for December delivery rose 31.8 dollars, or 1.89 percent, to settle at 1,715 dollars per ounce.

Thanks to gains in consecutive two days, gold has basically recovered its ground lost last Friday.

In the presidential tug-of-war between Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, market analysts are liable to the opinion that Obama's re-election will be bullish for the precious metal, as there is a greater chance of more easing monetary policies from the Federal Reserve.

Dollar's going weak also supported gold prices. The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of currencies, slipped to 80.581 Tuesday from 80.749 Monday. A weaker dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities including gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Silver for December delivery gained 90.6 cents, or 2.91 percent, to close at 32.034 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery rose 15.6 dollars, or 1.01 percent, to close at 1,558.3 dollars per ounce.

Oil prices surge on U.S. Election Day

U.S. crude prices surged more than 3.5 percent on Tuesday, when Americans headed to vote for their next president, boosted by strong performance in the stock market and weaker dollar.

Equities also rallied, sending positive message to commodities market, as incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney was neck and neck in the election.

Although the broader market remains cautious, which can be easily seen in the light volume, some investors bet Obama seems to have a bigger chance for a victory, which means the U.S. Federal Reserve will remain accommodative under current quantitative easing policies.

The surge in the market reminded investors of the astonishing surge on Wall Street four years ago when Americans were choosing a new president. Crude gained more than 10 percent and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 305 points on Nov. 4, 2008.

Adding to the gains, the U.S. dollar weakened against most of its major counterparts Tuesday, pushing oil prices higher as cheaper dollar made the commodity more attractive to investors holding other currencies.

U.S. gasoline futures soared nearly 8 percent Tuesday after some major refineries said it will take two to three weeks to resume operations.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery went up 3.06 dollars, or 3.57 percent, to settle at 88.71 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude for December delivery rallied for a second straight day, rising 3.34 dollars, or 3.1 percent, to settle at 111.07 dollars a barrel.

U.S. stocks modestly higher ahead of election

U.S. stocks ended modestly higher on Monday as investors were still cautious ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
When the market closed, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 19.28 points, or 0.15 percent, to 13,112.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 3.06 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1, 417.26. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 17.53 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,999.66.

The trading was very light throughout the session, with major indexes drifting between losses and gains, as many investors chose to stay on the sidelines amid a great deal of uncertainty in the market ahead of an extremely tight election.

Among all 30 Dow components, Hewlett-Packard jumped over 1.8 percent to lead the blue-chip indexes while Bank of America and UnitedHealth led the laggards, both giving up more than 1 percent.

Materials and energy stocks were among the best performers in the S&P 500 sectors, boosted by the rebound in oil prices.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, rose above 18.

On the economic front, a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed the U.S. service sector expanded at a slower rate in October, with the ISM's non-manufacturing purchasing managers index falling 54.2, from 55.1 in September.

Concerns over the European debt problems resurfaced after the stock markets were dominated by news out of the United States for quite a while, as Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras Sunday told lawmakers of his party that the Greek society will not tolerate any more austerity measures.

The Greek parliament will vote on the new budget which included austerity measures presented by the government on Wednesday. The measures were necessary for the country to secure bailout funds and its existence in the euro zone.

Uncertainties about whether Greece could receive international aid and Spain would make a bailout rescue have exerted pressures on the euro and dragged it down from the level of 1.3000.

Among stocks in focus, shares of Apple jumped 1.36 percent, giving the whole tech sector a boost, after the tech giant said it has sold 3 million iPads since Friday.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar advanced against most of its major counterparts on Monday while oil prices rebounded after recent plunge.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery added 79 cents, or 0. 93 percent, to settle at 85.65 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet