Gold was earlier about US$7 an ounce higher than this time yesterday but has since eased a couple of dollars on the spot market to around $1,230/oz.

Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM) was one of the big risers on the benchmark S&P/ASX200 today, up 4.8% at the time of writing as it unveiled results from "a quarter to be proud of".

The miner met revised guidance after Cadia recovered from its tailings wall slump and Lihir achieved record low quarterly all-in sustaining costs.

The index's gold sector was up almost 4% in afternoon trade while Australian diversifieds were down about 0.3%.

In the US, gold major Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) had closed up 0.92% but copper major Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) was down 1.31%, despite reporting higher net income for the June quarter, as copper prices eased.

Fellow copper producer Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) closed 0.57% higher in London as it maintained its production outlook for 2018.

Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) fell back after the previous day's gains, off more than 2% yesterday.

Metals and mining stocks couldn't quite manage a gain on the S&P/TSX Composite Index yesterday, down 0.02%.

Still, there were some strong gains in the gold sector with Pretium Resources (TSX: PVG) closing up 5.54% as it closed a C$3 million private placement for grassroots exploration east of its Brucejack mine.

At the other end of the scale, IAMGOLD (TSX: IMG) closed down 3.32% on no news.