Gold rises on first trading day of 2013

Gold futures prices on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Wednesday, the first trading day of 2013, as the U.S. Congress a day earlier passed a budget deal to avert fiscal cliff -- a combination of automatic tax increases and spending cuts at the end of 2012. The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 13 dollars, or 0.78 percent, to settle at 1,688.8 dollars per ounce. Though a compromise has been reached among leaders in Washington, a number of issues still remain unsolved, experts reckon, saying the deal is not a complete solution to the problems related to the fiscal cliff. While leaving income-tax rates unchanged for most Americans, individual taxpayers with more than 400,000 dollars or couples with 450,000 dollars would see the top marginal tax rate rise to 39.6 percent this year from 35 percent last year. The deal has also extended unemployment benefits and delayed spending cuts for two months. Silver for March delivery gained 78 cents, or 2.58 percent, to close at 31.007 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery rose 25.6 dollars, or 1.66 percent, to close at 1,568 dollars per ounce.