November 24: Gold hits five-week high on dollar, safe-haven buying

Source: MarketWatch

New York -- Gold futures rose for a fourth consecutive session Monday, surging to their highest in more than five weeks amid broad rallies in stocks and commodities, as safe-haven buying and the dollar's decline continued. Gold's gains came as U.S. equity markets jumped and as crude oil and other metals surged. Silver leaped past $10 an ounce for the first time in two weeks. Gold for December delivery rose $37.70, or 4.8%, to $829.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose as high as $830.10 earlier, the loftiest intraday level since Oct. 16. The metal has gained nearly $95, or 13%, since Nov. 18. Gold rallied more than $40 Friday, capping off a rise of 6.6% for the week -- the biggest percentage gain since the week ended Sept. 19.

"Dollar weakness and oil strength are contributory factors that drove gold higher, but safe-haven buying looks to be a primary cause," said Mark O'Byrne, executive director at Gold & Silver Investments. In foreign-exchange trading, the dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against its major rivals, lost 1.4%. A falling dollar increases gold's investment appeal. See full story.

November 21: Gold surges to top $800 on safe-haven buying

Source: MarketWatch

New York -- Gold futures surged Friday, briefly topping $800 an ounce for the first time in more than a month, as wary investors returned to the safety of the precious metal. Gold for December delivery rallied $43.10, or 5.8%, to end at $791.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It jumped 7.1% to $801.90 earlier, rising to above $800 for the first time since Oct. 16. The benchmark contract ended the week up 6.6%, the biggest weekly percentage gain since the week ended Sept. 19. The metal topped $900 an ounce in September after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and then fell into roller-coaster dives that sent it below the $700 mark in October, as banks and funds liquidated their precious-metal assets for much-needed cash in the face of the credit crunch.

Recent gains in gold indicate that investment interests may have returned, analysts said. "The metal benefited from the return of safe-haven investment demand," said James Moore, a precious metal's analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. See full story.

November 20: Gold rises as weak economy spurs safety buying

Source: MarketWatch

New York -- Gold futures rose Thursday, gaining ground as gloomy economic news and falling crude-oil prices stepped up investors' interest in safe-haven buying. First-time filings for unemployment benefits shot up to their highest level since July 1992, U.S. government data for last week showed. Meanwhile, crude-oil futures dropped to below $50 a barrel for the first time since January 2007. And in the equities market, U.S. stocks gyrated on the heels of heavy selling in Europe and overnight in Asia.

That gold held its ground in the face of a global pullback in stocks and a resumption of pressure on crude futures "confirmed its safe-haven status," said Mark O'Byrne, executive director at Gold and Silver Investments. Gold for December delivery rose $12.70, or 1.7%, to end at $748.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rallied to $753.40 earlier. See full story.

November 19: Gold futures rise, breaking slump as dollar weakens

Source: MarketWatch

New York -- Gold futures rose Wednesday for the first session in three, rallying as much as 4% before paring gains and closing slightly higher, as the U.S. dollar's weakness increased the metal's appeal as an alternative investment. Gold for December delivery rose $32.10, or 4.4%, to an intraday high of $764.80 an ounce. It pared gains in afternoon trading as the dollar reduced losses and U.S. equity markets extended declines. The contract closed up $3.30, or 0.5%, at $736 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"Gold again looked to the dollar and equity markets for direction," said James Moore, a precious metals analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. "For now gold is likely to remain in the current $720 to $765 range." In currencies trading, the dollar index , which tracks the value of the greenback against major rivals, was last seen almost flat. It was down more than 1% earlier. The dollar's weakness came after the Labor Department reported U.S. consumer prices declined a record 1% in October from a year ago, seasonally adjusted, as energy prices fell 8.6%, also a record. See full story.

November 18: Gold falls as data reduce inflation pressures

Source: MarketWatch

New York -- Gold futures fell Tuesday as the metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation declined after the U.S. reported a record drop in producer prices and inflation pressures in the U.K. eased much more than expected. Gold for December delivery fell $9.30, or 1.3%, to $732.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It closed slightly lower in the previous session.

U.S. producer prices index fell a record 2.8% in October from a month ago, the most since 1947, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The U.K.'s Office for National Statistics said consumer price index fell 0.2% in the same month. Market expectations had been an increase of 0.1%. The data indicated that deflation is displacing inflation as a major concern for investors and policy makers, analysts said. "It now seems that there is a strong likelihood of deflation," said Ben Read, managing economist at the Center for Economic and Business Research. See full story.

November 17: Gold erases losses on U.S. stocks, weaker dollar

Source: MarketWatch

New York -- Gold futures erased earlier losses, moving 0.6% higher to extend the gains of late last week as the dollar fell against rival currencies and as the U.S. stock market turned positive. Gold for December delivery rose $4.20 to stand at $746.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell $12.90 earlier to as low as $729.60. Gold jumped 5.3% on Friday, the biggest one-day percentage gain for the benchmark contract since Sept. 18. The metal ended last week's trading up 1.1%, gaining for a second consecutive week.

Despite gold's recent weakness, down more than 25% from its record high above $1,000 hit in March, it's "still doing an admirable job" in terms of wealth preservation, said Mark O'Byrne, executive director at Gold & Silver Investments. The metal's up 10% from its low in August 2007, when the financial crisis started. In contrast, the S&P 500 equities benchmark has slumped about 40%. See full story.

November 14: Gold futures rally as much as $47 an ounce

Source: MarketWatch

New York -- Gold futures rallied as much as $47 an ounce Friday and were poised to gain almost 2% for the week as bleak global economic news and losses on Wall Street combined to boost the metal's investment appeal. Gold for December delivery tapped a high of $752 an ounce, climbing as much as 6.7% overnight in electronic trading on Globex. It was last up 5.9%, or $41.50, at $746.50 an ounce, trading 1.7% higher for the week. Gold isn't a stranger to big daily climbs. The front-month futures contract made daily gains of more than $40 three times in September.

Also Friday, silver futures jumped 8%, platinum was up 4% and copper soared almost 6%. "On the heels of poor retail numbers, gold took off to the races," said Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers. "Gold may or may not be factoring in additional rate cuts at this juncture, but the more likely explanation is that a U.S. hedge fund may have dipped some sizeable toes into the gold market's waters." See full story.

November 13: Gold futures dip, then recover in electronic trade

Source: MarketWatch

San Francisco -- Gold futures dropped below $700 an ounce Thursday in New York for the first time in three weeks, extending their losing streak to three sessions as recent weakness in the U.S. stock market prompted investors to take more money off the investment table. But prices for the precious metal reversed course in electronic trading as the Dow Jones Industrial Average regained some lost ground. The index on Thursday touched a low below 8,000 for the first time since Oct. 10 and it's fallen for three days in a row.

December gold climbed to $711.40 an ounce on Globex as of 2 p.m. EST, after closing at $705 an ounce, down $13.30, or 1.9%, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract touched a low of $698.20 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex, marking its first decline below $700 since Oct. 23. And gold prices tallied a loss of more than $41 an ounce during a losing streak that's so far spanned three-straight sessions. See full story.