Modest Advance for Gold Futures

As for base metals, copper contracts were up about 7 cents at $2.78 a pound.

"The recent trend of copper stock outflows across warehouses spanning Asia, Europe and the U.S. reflects firming demand conditions in our view," states a report from the commodities desk at Barclays Capital in London. "We expect further price support for copper to emerge," owing to strong imports in to China.

Elsewhere, CIBC World Markets raised its rating on shares of Canadian zinc producer Teck Cominco(TCK Quote) to sector outperform from sector perform, sending the shares higher by about 1% recently.