By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures slipped in electronic trading Monday, tracked by falls for the wider metals complex.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z -0.26% lost $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,723.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
The metal closed out Friday’s North American session with a weekly loss of 3.5%, breaking a three-week winning streak. Read more about Friday's metals session.
Despite recent weakness, BNP Paribas precious-metals strategist Anne-Laure Tremblay remained bullish on the outlook for gold, “boosted by its safe-haven status in an environment of heightened uncertainty.”
“In the near term, gold should continue to outperform the rest of the precious metals complex,” Tremblay wrote in a research note.
The broader suite of metals tracked gold lower in electronic trading Monday, with silver posting the steepest declines.
December silver SI1Z -1.39% shed 35 cents, or 1.1%, to $32.06 an ounce.
December copper HG1Z -0.99% lost 3 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.37 a pound.
January platinum PL2F +0.04% dropped 20 cents to $1,588.50 an ounce, and palladium for December delivery PA2F 0.00% fell $3.80, or 0.6%, to $601.35 an ounce.
Outside of gold, Tremblay said the outlook for precious metals “is tied to an eventual rebound in risk appetite.”
“In the second half of 2012, if the global economic outlook improves and uncertainty subsides, palladium may take over gold’s position as the best performing precious metal,” she said.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
