Gold ends higher, logs best streak of gains in 2 months

Gold futures turned higher Tuesday to register modest gains but that was enough to mark the best stretch for the yellow metal in about two months. June gold closed $2.90, or 0.2%, higher at $1,290.90 an ounce. Tuesday's gain marks four straight sessions of climbing prices--its longest stretch of advances since the period ended Feb. 9, when gold gained for five sessions in a row, according to FactSet data. Gold prices shrugged off a rally in stocks and crude oil to rise as metal's traders focused on weak corporate quarterly results and a bleak outlook for global growth offered by the International Monetary Fund. Late Monday, Alcoa Inc. reported better-than-expected first-quarter results but delivered a poor outlook for earnings. On Tuesday, the IMF lowered its estimate for global growth, cutting its estimate to 3.2% in 2016 from 3.4%. The IMF also cut its growth estimate for the U.S. to 2.4% in 2016 from an earlier estimate of 2.6%. Stephen Kalayjian, chief market technician, at trading tech firm Knowvera, described that environment as perfect for gold, which is viewed as a safe-harbor asset for investors in times of global uncertainty. "I think there are a lot of positives for gold, right now," he said.

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