Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures on Monday settled at their lowest in seven weeks as renewed anxiety about the euro zone�s debt problems pushed investors into the dollar and far away from commodities. Gold futures for February delivery fell $48.60, or 2.8%, to end at $1,668.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was gold�s lowest settlement since Oct. 24. With Moody�s warning it could downgrade some European sovereign debt early next year, some investors �just said, all right, let�s just get out and wait till next year,�� said Michael K. Smith with T & K Futures in Florida. Investors chose to forgo going and get into the dollar or dollar-like investments such as U.S. Treasurys, he said.

�No one is trading on fundamentals anymore,� but rather watching the headlines from Europe, he added. Gold dropped below the psychologically important $1,700 level during Asian trading hours. Monday�s close was the first under $1,700 since Nov. 25. The fall in gold prices more than offset the modest gains the metal recorded Friday, when it rose 0.2%. A higher dollar pressured gold and other commodities, and also siphoned safe-haven buying away from the metal. See full story.