Precious Metals Post Gains as Dow Hits Fresh All-Time High

On Tuesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for April delivery, the most active contract, increased $2.50 to settle at $1,574.90 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for May edged 11 cents higher to close at $28.60.

Both precious metals logged a modest gain as the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally made a new all-time nominal high. The blue-chip index climbed as high as 14,286.37 during the trading day, and closed the session at 14,253.77.

However, the Federal Reserve and its historic monetary easing programs continue to take credit for much of the rally. The central bank’s balance sheet has nearly quadrupled   since the Dow’s previous all-time high in 2007, and now stands at more than $3 trillion.

By the end of the day, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) increased .05 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) gained 0.54 percent. However, gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) both edged slightly lower. Silver names such as Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) and Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) dropped more than 1 percent.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS