Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures gained more than 1% to settle above $1,050 an ounce on Monday, as upbeat economic reports from the U.S., China and Europe put early pressure on the dollar, lifting the appeal of the precious metal. Gold for December delivery gained $13.60, or 1.3%, to end at $1,054 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract earlier rose as high as $1,062.40 an ounce but lost ground as stocks began selling off, lifting demand for the dollar as a safe haven. After its official close on NYMEX, gold turned negative in electronic trade, recently losing 30 cents.

Gold prices fell slightly on Friday but still held onto a 3.8% advance for the month of October. October "is traditionally a poor month for gold, unlike the seasonally stronger months of November and December," said Frank Wall, metals analyst at GoldCore, who sees last month's gains as a signal that the precious metal will advance further. Other metal prices finished mixed on Monday, with December silver futures rising 19 cents, or 1.2%, to $16.44 an ounce but December copper losing 1 cent to $2.94 a pound. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rebounded to 76.357, after falling as low as 75.93 following the U.S. data early Monday. That compares with 76.320 in late U.S. trade Friday. The U.S. unit has tended to be used as a safe-haven currency over the past year, losing its appeal on upbeat news. A weaker dollar, in turn, helps boost hard assets, such as commodities and gold. See full story