Gold prices held firm near $4,400 an ounce Tuesday, extending a rally that has pushed the precious metal to its highest level in more than two months as investors sought safe-haven assets amid worsening tensions tied to Iran and ahead of a closely watched U.S. inflation report later this week.

Spot gold traded at $4,387.09 an ounce, up $26.06, or 0.60%, according to trading data. The move came alongside a similar advance in gold futures, with December contracts opening at $4,446.90 per troy ounce Tuesday, up 0.6% from Monday's closing price. Gold's price early Tuesday held around $4,445.30 per troy ounce as of mid-morning trading, according to futures market data, while CNBC's gold-dollar spot price measure showed bullion trading at $4,396.53 an ounce as of 9 a.m. Eastern time, slightly above Monday's level of $4,331.90 at the same time.

Tuesday's gains extended a rally that began building last week after a disappointing U.S. employment report prompted many analysts to scale back expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate increase at the central bank's next meeting. Gold opened Monday at $4,400 per troy ounce, its highest opening level since early June, before continuing to climb into Tuesday's session. Precious metals have benefited broadly from the shift in rate expectations, since lower interest rates tend to reduce the opportunity cost of........

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