Gold and silver were trading higher Tuesday morning as an agreement between Greece and private bondholders appears within reach, and 25 of 27 European Union member nations signed off on stricter fiscal budget controls and a strengthened European Stability Mechanism.

Spot gold was 0.5% higher, bid at $1,739.10 per ounce with an ask price of $1,740.10. Spot gold traded as high as $1,748.40 and as low as $1,737.20. The London afternoon reference price fix came in at $1,744, $15 per ounce higher than Monday’s reference price, according to Kitco market data.

Spot silver was showing a gain of 0.57% an ounce, bid at $33.69 with an ask price of $33.79. The morning high as of time of writing was $34.24 and the low was $33.55. Tuesday’s reference price was set at $33.60 in the London a.m., 42 cents per ounce above Monday’s reference price.

November home prices in the largest U.S. cities fell for the third consecutive month, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. The index fell 1.3% month-to-month and 3.7% from a year ago. Prices declined in 19 of the 20 cities the index tracks. Home prices dropped most in Atlanta (2.5% monthly), while home prices in Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa, Fla., reached new lows in November.

Gold bullion prices were heading for their biggest monthly gain of the century on Tuesday morning in London, as prices hit $1,745 an ounce, according to BullionVault’s London Gold Market Report.

January’s gain looks set to be the fourth-largest calendar month advance in the last three decades, and the largest since the 1999 signing of the Central Bank Gold Agreement, in which central banks agreed to limit their gold sales, BullionVault’s Adrian Ash noted.

Turning to stock exchange trading, gold and silver trusts were moving higher.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was moving higher, up around 0.5%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) was showing gains above 0.45%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was moving higher, up between 0.3% and 0.45%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs were mixed Tuesday morning.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was down around 0.1%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) was showing gains of less than 0.2%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was about 0.1% lower.

Gold mining shares were were mixed, with moves relatively muted.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) was showing losses approaching 1.7%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was up some 0.3%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) was up around 0.8%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was up nearly 0.2%.
• Kinross Gold Corp. USA (NYSE:KGC) was showing losses of around 0.5%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was up more than 0.7%.
• NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG) was showing gains of nearly 0.6%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) was up nearly 0.7%.

Silver mining shares also were mixed.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) was moving lower, down more than 1.5%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was down more than 1.1%.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) was showing gains of more than 1.3%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) was showing gains of between 0.3% and 0.4%.
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) was showing gains of between 0.1% and 0.25%.

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