PRECIOUS METALS: Gold gains on weak dollar, other metals drop
Gold futures closed with a subtle gain on Monday, as a drop in the dollar revived demand for the precious metal as a hedge against losses in the U.S. currency.
Gold for June delivery rose $2.40 to end at $917.60 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged to an intraday high of $931.40 an ounce.
On Friday, gold futures dropped $27.70 to end at $915.20 an ounce. On the week, the precious metal posted a loss of $11.80.
Gold looks set to spend more time in the $900 to $930 area, and remains vulnerable to a test back towards the April 1 low of $872 as speculators continue to take profit in order to increase their cash liquidity, wrote James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a research note.
In currency trading, the dollar extended losses against most major counterparts, after weak earnings were reported by Bank of America Corp. which reminded investors that the U.S. financial sector is still hard-hit by the credit crisis.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of other major counterparts, slipped down 0.2 percent to 71.79.
Also on the Nymex, May silver futures lost 46 cents to end at $17.36 an ounce and July platinum futures declined $44 to finish at $2,027.30 an ounce.
June palladium dropped $10.90 to $462.50 an ounce and May copper futures edged down 2 cents to $3.87 a pound.
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