Better-than-expected monsoon rainfall and the start of the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan, traditionally a period of increased physical gold buying in India, bolstered investor sentiment that gold demand from Asia will continue to rise.

The metal finished the day up modestly with the market looking ahead to the release of the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Markets Committee Meeting on Wednesday.

Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.5% to $1,372.60 per ounce on Tuesday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,378 and as low as $1,351.60. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,373, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for December delivery slipped 0.4% to $23.12 per ounce. Tuesday’s high for silver was $23.35, while the low was $22.32.

Gold and silver funds were mixed in Tuesday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) edged up 0.3%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (IAU) climbed 0.2%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) fell 0.7%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs gained during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) rose 3.8%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) added 2.8%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) moved up 2.5%.

Gold mining shares advanced on Tuesday.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) jumped 3.8%.
• Barrick Gold (ABX) increased 2.8%.
• Eldorado Gold (EGO) added 3.3%.
• Goldcorp (GG) rose 2.3%.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) moved up 3.5%.
• Newmont Mining (NEM) gained 2.3%.
• NovaGold Resources (NG) surged 4.2%.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) climbed 3.1%.

Silver mining shares climbed during the day.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) advanced 4.8%.
• Hecla Mining (HL) rose 4.2%.
• Pan American Silver (PAAS) added 3.2%.
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) increased 2.9%.
• Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) gained 3.1%.

As of this writing, Christopher Freeburn did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.