RTRS: Gold falls nearly 3 pct as dollar strengthens
Gold fell nearly 3 percent on Monday as the dollar strengthened to a three-week high against the euro, denting the precious metal's appeal as a currency hedge, and oil prices gave up earlier gains. Spot gold fell to a session low of $850.20 an ounce, and was quoted at $852.60/854.60 at 1221 GMT, against $873.20 in New York late on Friday. Silver tracked gold lower, falling 5 percent to $10.95/11.03. U.S. gold futures for February delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped 3 percent to $850.00 an ounce in after-hours trading. (Reporting by Jan Harvey; Editing by Sue Thomas)