Investing.com - Gold gained further in Asia on Tuesday on expectations of continued easy global monetary policies following a weak series of PMI readings and a surprise move by China overnight to boost liquidity in the banking system.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold rose 1.09% to $1,247.90 a troy ounce.
Silver futures for March delivery jumped 1.95% to $14.955 a troy ounce, while copper futures for March delivery fell 0.99% to $2.108 a pound.
China's Caixin PMI for February came in at 48, below the 48.3 expected and last month's level of 48. A figure below 50 suggests contraction.
Earlier in China, the semi-official manufacturing PMI for February fell to 49, weaker than the 49.3 expected and last month's 49.4 level, while the non-manufacturing PMI came in at 52.7, below the last reported at 53.5.
For the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing manufacturing it was its weakest level since November 2011.
The CFLP said in an accompanying statement that production, new orders and amount of purchase fell sharply in February because of the week-long Chinese New Year holiday.
"Input prices for iron and steel and non-ferrous metal industries saw marked increases. If the recovery momentum becomes a trend, it will help to improve companies profitability and further boost production," said the CFLP.
The CFLP also noted a spike in the sub-index measuring business expectations, jumping to 57.9 in February from 44.4 in January, suggesting strong confidence by Chinese companies over the future outlook.
On Monday, copper received a boost late in the session, after China injected approximately $100 billion or 680 billion yuan into its economy in an effort to ease liquidity in the banking sector. The surprising move by the People's Bank of China to cut the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks is the latest in a series of easing measures aimed at calming investors, as China continues its shift to a consumer-driven economy.
China is the world's largest consumer of copper and the second-largest consumer of gold, behind India.
Overnight, gold futures rose more than 1% on Monday, amid disappointing economic data in the U.S., as the precious metal capped its strongest month in more than a decade against the backdrop of a slowing global economy and extreme volatility in financial markets worldwide.
For the month of February, gold futures surged more than 10%, recording their best monthly performance since October, 2002. After extending gains from a stellar opening month of the year, gold remains on pace for its most productive first quarter in at least 30 years.
Gold reached session-highs on Monday morning shortly after the Institute for Supply Management said its Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) plummeted eight points in February to 47.6, falling outside consensus estimates for the third consecutive month. It came as backlog orders contracted for the 13th straight month, employment remained in contraction territory for a fifth consecutive month and prices contracted at their quickest pace since 2009.
A subset enters contraction territory when its reading drops below 50.
Moments later, the National Association of Realtors said pending sales of existing homes slowed last month by 2.5% to 106.0, the lowest level since January of last year. On an annual basis, pending sales are up by just 1.4%, despite low unemployment figures and comparatively low mortgage rates. For the month of January, pending sales declined in three of the four regions of the U.S., with all but the South closing in the red.