Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures fell Wednesday to their lowest level in five weeks, echoing sharp losses in crude oil and U.S. stocks, with a rising dollar also helping push the metal lower. Gold for February delivery was down $8.70, or 1.1%, at $812 an ounce in midmorning trade on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped to $807 earlier in the session, the lowest intraday level since Dec. 10. After trading higher for an eighth consecutive year in 2008, gold has lost more than $70 an ounce, or 8%, so far this year, mostly as a result of a rising U.S. dollar.

Wednesday's loss in gold came amid sharp declines in crude oil and U.S. stock markets. Oil for February delivery tumbled more than 5% after a government report showed U.S. petroleum inventories jumped. On Wall Street, financial shares, led by the wounded giant Citigroup Inc., paced Wednesday's market free-fall, with energy and consumer discretionary shares adding to the sharp retreat after the latest confirmations of a deepening recession. In currency trading, the dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.5% to 84.478. See full story.