By SARA LEPRO NEW YORK (AP) -- Gold and other commodities prices fell Thursday investors extended their flight from the futures markets amid more signs of economic weakness. The dominating driver of the commodities markets in recent months has been the fear of a sharp drop in demand for raw materials as the country sinks further into a recession. And there were plenty of signs Thursday that the nation continues to suffer hard times, including layoffs at AT&T Inc. and DuPont Co., dismal retail sales reports and an auto industry whose struggles are multiplying. Additionally, investors remain wary ahead of Friday's employment report, which is expected to show further deterioration in the job market. Massive interest rate cuts by several European central banks earlier in the day - further proof that the economic slump has spread to other parts of the world - also weighed on the market. "Investment demand is not what it used to be," said George Gero, vice president of global futures at RBC Capital Markets in New York. "The malaise is worldwide, not just the U.S." At the same time, analysts suspect that hedge funds and other institutional investors continue to exit their positions in commodities ahead of the new year. "You have continued liquidation going on because of the need for cash by a lot of funds," Gero said. Investors see little potential for an increase in demand going into 2009, he said. Gold for February delivery dipped $5 to settle at $765.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Other precious metals prices also fell. March silver fell 7 cents to $9.520 an ounce, while March copper futures fell 8.5 cents to $1.4695 a pound. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Demand for government bonds, considered to be among the safest investments, remained elevated. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.56 percent late Thursday from 2.67 percent late Wednesday. Energy prices slumped on the Nymex, on the fear that demand will curtail sharply as fewer people drive to work amid rampant job losses. Both oil and gasoline prices hit four-year lows. Light, sweet crude fell nearly 7 percent, or $3.12, to settle at $43.67 a barrel. Just four months ago, crude rocketed close to $150 a barrel. It has fallen nearly $27 in just one month. In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 7.2 cents to 96.95 cents a gallon, and heating oil dropped 7.49 cents to $1.5091 a gallon. Grain prices tumbled on the Chicago Board of Trade. March wheat futures fell 33.75 cents to $4.86 a bushel, while corn for March delivery fell 14.25 cents to $3.34 a bushel. January soybeans dropped 19 cents to $8.11 a bushel.

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