Gold prices are trading near steady in midday dealings Tuesday, on some mild profit taking and chart consolidation from recent strong gains that pushed prices to a nine-week high overnight. Risk appetite is also keener today than was the case on Monday, evidenced by a big rally in the U.S. stock market. That’s a negative for the save-haven gold and silver markets. August gold futures were last up $0.10 an ounce at $1,328.00. July Comex silver prices were last up $0.02 at $14.76 an ounce. Gold saw a brief pop at mid-morning following remarks from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who said at a conference that the current disputes between the U.S. and its major trading partners have the attention of the Fed. Powell also said inflation remains non-problematic and that the Fed will act appropriately to continue the U.S. economic expansion. Gold prices then settled right back to near unchanged, however. European equities were mostly firmer overnight and Asian stock markets were mostly down. The U.S. indexes hit three-month lows Monday and are still trending down on the daily charts. That’s still a positive for the precious metals markets.