AP: Gold, energy rise amid fighting in Middle East
Gold and energy rose in light trading Monday as investors looked for defensive positions amid stepped-up fighting in the Middle East.
Investors often turn to gold as a safe investment in an uncertain market, and so contracts for February delivery of the metal rose $4.10 to settle at $875.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Political uncertainty around the world, including the potential for war, tends to send gold higher. The metal has been recovering after falling in mid-November due to selling by hedge funds and other large investors, and Monday's advance built on those gains.
The third day of conflict between Israel and Hamas leaders in Gaza also drove oil higher. Israel launched its deadliest campaign against Palestinians in decades on Saturday following rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $2.31 to settle at $40.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the first finish above $40 in a week.
"There's anxiety about what's going on in Israel," said Brad Samples, commodity analyst at Summit Energy Inc. in Louisville, Ky. But he cautioned against reading too much into the moves because trading volume is light around the holidays.
"It's hard to interpret it as anything other than typical end-of-the-year dynamics," he said. "It's a very dead time. There's not a lot of volume."
In other Nymex trading Monday, gasoline futures rose 3 cents to settle at 87.45 cents a gallon, while heating oil rose 4 cents to settle at $1.2853 a gallon.
On Monday, the dollar was mostly lower against the euro and rose against the British pound.
Grain prices have been climbing the past few weeks on the Chicago Board of Trade, but declined Monday.
March wheat futures fell 7.25 cents to finish at $5.92 a bushel, while March corn futures fell 18.75 cents to settle at $3.935 a bushel. March soybeans slid 11 cents to settle at $9.455 a bushel.
March copper futures added 0.0045 cent to close at $1.3080 a pound, while March silver rose 29 cents to close at $10.82 an ounce.
