By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Gold futures fell Monday amid broad declines in global stock markets and commodities, as a firmer U.S. dollar continued to reduce the precious metal's appeal as an alternative investment. Stocks plunged in Asia and Europe while U.S. markets also opened lower. The dollar surged against the euro and the British pound. Platinum, a metal used in car catalysts and jewelry, plunged to a five-year low. Gold for December delivery lost $14.80, or 2%, to $715.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell to $707 earlier in electronic trading. Gold fell in 11 out of 13 sessions since Oct. 8. Gold lost ground "as the dollar gained," wrote James Moore, a metal analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. "The week ahead looks set to remain volatile and could prove pivotal to gold's medium-term direction." The precious metal fell 7.3% last week. In other metals, January platinum fell 4% to $770 an ounce. It dropped to $752.10 earlier, the lowest since November, 2003. December copper dropped 1.2% to $1.6665 a pound. December palladium slid 2.5% to $169.55 an ounce, and December silver fell 4.5% to $8.875 an ounce. In exchange-traded funds, gold in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest gold ETF, stood at 747.06 tons Friday, unchanged from the previous day, according to the latest data from the fund. Gold at SPDR hit a record high of 770.64 tons on Oct. 10. In spot trading, the London gold-fixing price -- used as a benchmark for gold for immediate delivery -- stood at $720.50 an ounce Monday morning local time, up $8 from Friday afternoon. In currencies, the euro was trading at $1.2463, down 1.3% from late Friday trading. The European unit last week posted a weekly loss of more than 6% against the dollar, bringing its loss for the year to more than 14%. See Currencies. Meanwhile, crude oil futures fell for a second day Monday, dropping to below $62 a barrel as worries intensified that slower economic growth will reduce energy demand. See Futures Movers.

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