Summary Gold finished 2012 about 6 percent higher and has now advanced for 12 consecutive years.
NEW YORK: Gold prices are edging higher after President Barack Obama said that a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" was in sight.
February gold advanced $19.90, or 1.2 percent, to $1,675.80 an ounce Monday. The price has increased almost six-fold since the start of 2000.
Gold finished 2012 about 6 percent higher and has now advanced for 12 consecutive years. Demand for the precious metal has increased as the value of the U.S. dollar has declined.
Silver, copper and platinum also advanced.
In grain trading, corn edged higher, soybeans fell and wheat was little changed.
