A stronger U.S. dollar and plunging oil prices pressured gold Monday to the lowest level in nearly two weeks. Silver dropped as well while platinum plummeted almost 4 percent. U.S. stocks ended mixed.
In New York trading futures for bullion:
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Silver for September delivery fell 17 cents, or 1.3 percent, to 13.238 an ounce.
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Gold for August delivery declined $6.70, or 0.7 percent, to $924.30 an ounce — the lowest level for a most active contract since Tuesday, June 23.
- October platinum plunged $46.30, or 3.9 percent, to $1,147.00 an ounce.
Notable precious metal quotes on the day include:
"There is a sell-off with the dollar strength," Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet was quoted on Reuters. "Gold is holding up quite well, compared to the other commodities. At these levels, we might see some physical buying."
"Gold is vulnerable to a deeper correction in the short to medium-term, and will need to come lower to stimulate renewed institutional level investment demand as well as interest from the physical sector," James Moore, a precious metals analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, was quoted on MarketWatch.
"In our view, given silver’s weak fundamental footing, silver prices remain the most susceptible to further downside risk, should the dollar strengthen and gold prices remain soft," Suki Cooper, a Barclays Capital analyst in London, was quoted on Bloomberg.
In London bullion, the benchmark gold price was fixed earlier in the day to $924.50 an ounce, an $8.00 decline. Silver fell 41 cents to $13.03 an ounce. Platinum was fixed $35.00 lower to $1,150.00.
Gold, considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty, tends to follow oil and move opposite to the U.S. dollar. A rising greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities, like bullion, more expensive for holders of other world currencies.
Oil and gasoline prices
Oil plummeted hard for the second straight session on Monday "after remarks by Vice President Joe Biden added to doubts about an expected economic recovery that would drive demand for raw materials," wrote Moming Zhou and Polya Lesova of MarketWatch.
New York crude-oil for August delivery fell $2.68, or 4.0 percent, to close at $64.05 a barrel. It is down $7.44 from the last gain seen on Monday, June 29. It is also at the lowest level since May 27, when crude hit $63.45.
The national average for unleaded gasoline fell seven-tenths of a cent to $2.611 a gallon, according to AAA. The price is 2.8 cents lower than a week ago and $1.50 down from a year ago.
U.S. Stocks
U.S. stocks were mixed Monday as the Dow and S&P managed a very late surge to register modest gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 44.13 points, or 0.53 percent, to 8,324.87. The S&P 500 Index rose 2.30 points, or 0.26 percent, to 898.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 9.12 points, or 0.51 percent, to 1,787.40.
Check out additional market resources at Live Bullion Spots, the Silver Calculator, U.S. Mint Collector Bullion Price Guide, and the Inflation Calculator.
