Commodity Online

NEW YORK: Gold and other precious metals tumbled to a two month low Tuesday as the US dollar and stocks gained heavily overnight.

Gold hit a low of $US872.90 and was quoted at $US884.20 late in New York, when it had fallen 2 per cent. The yellow metal has fallen about 15 per cent since hitting a record high of $US1030.80 two weeks ago.

Analysts also cited movement from commodities back into equities. Technical selling also drove prices lower.

June gold plunged $US33.70 to finish at $US887.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

May silver slid US42c to settle at $US16.89 an ounce, and July platinum tumbled $US105.60 to $US1937.80 an ounce.

June palladium initially fell, then pared its loss, but still ended $US1.60 lower at $US448.60.

The most active May copper contract slipped US2.45c to settle at $US3.8065 a pound.

The metals' initial decline came on liquidation that coincided with weakness in other commodities, analysts said.

The Dow industrials were up more than 300 points as the gold pit was closing.


Gold