September 1, 2009
Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended lower on Monday as the commodity markets plunged after China's stock markets dipped 6.7 percent overnight. Silver rose, but platinum went down.
Gold price for December delivery dropped 5.30 U.S. dollars, or 0.5 percent, to finish at 953.50 dollars an ounce.
On concerns of a tightening in bank lending, Chinese equity markets saw the largest daily loss since last June on Monday, as the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 193 points, or 6.7 percent, to a three-month low.
This weighed much on the U.S. commodities as investors worried the economy's recovery will be delayed. The benchmark crude oil for October delivery in New York lost 2.82 dollars, or 4 percent, to 69.92 dollars a barrel and COMEX copper lost 12.4 cents, or 4.4percent, to 2.8265 dollars per pound by the end of gold floor trading time.
The commodities' big loss eased investors' worries about inflation, reducing gold's appeal of storing value against rising price.
Dollar fell against many of the major rivals. The dollar index, a gauge measuring the greenback's value against six currencies, fell 0.5 percent to as low as 77.995 shortly before gold closed, which helped the precious metal pare some losses during the session.
December silver finished at 14.923 dollars per ounce, up 10.8 cents. October platinum lost 1.90 dollars to 1,244.00 dollars an ounce.