(RTTNews) - The price of gold gained on Monday morning, reversing some of its losses from the previous session. Gold for February delivery moved to $849.00, up $11.20 for the session. Prices reached as high as $851.30 in electronic trading.
The dollar was little-changed against the euro Monday morning, retaining most of its gains from late last week. The greenback rallied to a three-day high of 1.3907 against the euro, moving off the 2 1/2 month low of 1.4718. The buck was little-changed against the yen near 89.50 after pulling away from a 13-year low of 87.11 earlier in the week.
Currency markets will most likely remain quiet for the most part this Christmas week, but could see some action on Tuesday with the release of reports on US housing as well as personal income and spending. After coming under heavy pressure early last week as the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to record low levels, the dollar was able to stabilize on Thursday on Friday as some other central banks around the world followed suit.
China became the latest to cut rates on MOnday, its key interest rates for the fifth time since September. The People's Bank of China slashed one-year lending rate by 27 basis points to 5.31% from 5.58%. The central bank also cut one-year deposit rate to 2.25% from 2.52%. The new rates will take effect on Dec. 23.
Crude oil saw modest strength in early trading, helping gold's hedge value. Light sweet crude for February delivery moved to $42.69, up 33 cents for the session. Oil hit as high as $43.44 in early trading.
Despite losing more than $23 on Friday, gold closed the week up $17.20. This marked the sixth time in seven weeks that gold has finished higher. The metal hit a two-month high of $879.60 last week.
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