Gold futures fell as the euro climbed, eroding demand for the precious metal as a haven asset. Silver also declined. The euro rose as much as 1.1 percent against the dollar to a three-week high after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she is committed to the common currency. Last month, gold fell 1.3 percent after reaching a record $1,557.40 an ounce on May 2. “With the euro stable, you’re losing the flight-to-quality bid in gold,” said Adam Klopfenstein, a senior strategist at Lind-Waldock, a broker in Chicago. Gold futures for August delivery fell $4.90, or 0.3 percent, to $1,538.30 an ounce at 10:17 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Before today, the metal gained 26 percent in the past year. The dollar dropped against a basket of major currencies as bearish reports on the economy spurred concern that the recovery is waning. “A decrease in economic growth takes away the argument from the inflation camp to buy gold,” Klopfenstein said. The Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate at zero percent to 0.25 percent since December 2008 and pledged to buy $600 billion in Treasuries through the end of June to help revive the economy. The European Central Bank began raising its benchmark rate in April after holding borrowing costs at a record low for two years. Silver futures for July delivery fell 86.9 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $36.825 an ounce. Before today, the price tumbled 24 percent from a 31-year high of $49.845 on April 25. To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

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