CHICAGO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar index and Treasury yields fell.

The most active gold contract for February delivery rose 11.60 U.S. dollars, or 0.57 percent, to close at 2,052.10 dollars per ounce.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said on Tuesday in an interview with Yahoo Finance that the Fed is nicely positioned now with a 3-percent inflation rate moving down, and a 3.7-percent unemployment rate staying relatively steady.

He welcomed the retreat in inflation but refrained from saying how that affects his outlook for central bank interest rate policy next year, holding whether the Fed can deliver on forecasts of rate cuts depends on how the economy performs.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday that U.S. housing starts jumped by 14.8 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.56 million units in November, soaring past expectations of a 1.36 million unit pace.

Nevertheless, U.S. building permits fell 2.5 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.46 million. The permits were 4.1 percent higher than a year ago.

Investors are awaiting the release the gross domestic product report due out on Thursday and the November core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation gauge, due on Friday.

Silver for March delivery rose 21.40 cents, or 0.89 percent, to close at 24.321 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery rose 11.50 dollars, or 1.21 percent, to close at 965.80 dollars per ounce.