Gold futures fall, pressured by dollar, crude
NEW YORK (May 12) Gold futures sank toward $880 an ounce Monday, pressured by strength in the dollar and by declining crude-oil prices.
Gold for June delivery dropped $5.70 to stand at $880.10 an ounce.
For the moment, gold remains capped by trend-line resistance at the $890 mark,
said James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.
"Given the metal's reaction to pockets of dollar strength, it seems gold will
find it tough to rally significantly," Moore said in a research note.
On Friday, gold rose $3.70 to close at $885.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, putting the benchmark contract's weekly gain at 3.2%, or $27.80.
On the currency markets Monday, the dollar rose in the aftermath of a weekend Wall Street Journal report that U.S. officials are attempting to put a floor under the greenback.
A shift in language in the statement that followed last month's meeting of Group of Seven
finance ministers and central bankers highlighted concerns over excess volatility in
currency markets.
This was interpreted at the time as meaning European officials were worried about
the weak dollar's impact on euro-zone exporters. An unnamed U.S. Treasury official,
however, said the change was pushed by Washington as part of an international effort
to halt the dollar's slide, according to the Journal.
In energy trading, crude-oil futures fell sharply, retreating after their record-breaking run in which they rallied more than 8% last week. Crude for June delivery fell $1.98 to $123.98 a barrel in electronic trading.
Also early Monday, July silver futures fell 7 cents to $16.84 an ounce, while July platinum dropped $43.80 to $2,058 an ounce and June palladium gave up $5.75 to stand at $438.10 an ounce. July copper slipped 1 cent to $3.70 a pound.
