Sri Lanka, Dec. 31 -- Precious metals rebounded on Tuesday, after falling sharply in the previous session, as the market refocused on geopolitical and economic risks, reigniting gold's rally to cap its best year since 1979.

Spot gold rose 0.8% to $4,364.70 per ounce at 2:07 p.m. ET (1907 GMT). On Monday, it recorded its biggest daily percentage loss since October 21 as profit-taking pushed it down from Friday's record high of $4,549.71.

U.S. gold futures settled 1% higher at $4,386.30.

"We saw very extreme volatility yesterday where we saw strong action in Asian trading to the upside and then rather substantial profit-taking... but things have stabilised somewhat today, the trade remains generally favourable," said Peter Grant, vice pr...