Gold pulls back from record as dollar strengthens

(AP) – 1 hour ago

NEW YORK — Gold prices drifted from their record high Monday as a stronger dollar kept buyers from entering the market.

Other metals also pulled back slightly as the dollar paused from its sharp fall over the past few weeks. Gold prices and other metals had rallied recently because of the weaker dollar, which makes it cheaper to invest in commodities priced in the currency.

The dollar has been weakening on expectations the Federal Reserve will start buying government bonds in an effort to drive U.S. interest rates lower and stimulate the sluggish economy.

Traders worried that those actions would hurt the value of the dollar had been moving money into other investments, particularly gold.

Gold for December delivery fell $1.00 to settle at $1,316.80 an ounce Monday after touching a record high of $1,322 an ounce during trading Friday. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against six other currencies, rose 0.4 percent.

Gold has been on a nearly unbroken climb since the end of July, climbing 11.2 percent during that stretch.

Silver followed gold lower as it has regularly tracked the price of gold in recent months. December silver fell 2.4 cents to settle at $22.036 an ounce.

Copper also dipped because of the stronger dollar. It fell 2.65 cents to $3.664 a pound.
Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher due to typical beginning of the quarter buying and reports that the Houston Ship Channel will remain closed due to a damaged electrical tower. That could hurt available supply.

Benchmark crude for November delivery lost 11 cents to settle at $81.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day it rose to $82.38, the highest level since Aug. 6.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.91 cent to settle at $2.2847 a gallon, and gasoline rose 0.72 cent to settle at $2.0933 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 7 cents to settle at $3.727 a gallon.

Grain and bean prices were mixed. Wheat for December delivery fell 7.75 cents to settle at $6.4725 a bushel, while corn rose 5.75 cents to $4.7150 a bushel. Soybeans for November delivery fell 3 cents to $10.54 a bushel.

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