Gold declined from a five-week high on renewed concerns that Europe’s debt crisis will hamper global growth, damping prospects for commodity demand. Italy’s borrowing costs rose to a euro-era record at a sale of three-year bonds. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 raw materials slumped as much as 1.3 percent. Gold also fell as the dollar rose as much 0.4 percent against a basket of six major currencies, reducing demand for the metal as an alternative asset. “Fresh fears about Italy are pushing all commodities, including gold, lower,” Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “We are also witnessing some profit taking.” Gold futures for December delivery fell 0.2 percent to $1,744.40 an ounce at 10:17 a.m. on the Comex in New York. A close at that level would still leave prices up 6.6 percent this week, the most since January 2009. Earlier, the metal reached $1,754, the highest since Sept. 23. European leaders agreed on new measures to tackle the region’s debt crisis yesterday. Silver futures for December delivery fell 0.3 percent to $34.995 an ounce in New York. Before today, the metal gained 14 percent this year. To contact the reporter for this story: Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

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