By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures extended declines in electronic trading Thursday, and most other metals traded down ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z +0.02% declined $6.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,695.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
The metal’s safe-haven appeal has diminished recently, and has tended to trade in line with stocks and other commodities, with investors moving cash as a safe bet amid ongoing global turmoil and uncertainty.
A failed German bond auction Wednesday fuelled fresh fears about debt-stricken Europe — and hit U.S. stocks and gold.
“Once investors start to focus on the prospect that the euro zone itself might break up, with all the uncertainty that would bring to the global economy and financial system from which the U.S. will not be immune, gold’s claim as a safe haven should come to the fore again,” said Julian Jessop, chief global economist at Capital Economics.
The broader metals complex traded mostly weaker.
Silver for December delivery SI1Z -0.30% dropped 5 cents, or 0.2%, to end at $31.83 an ounce.
January platinum PL2F -1.08% lost $10.30, or 0.7%, to $1,548.00 an ounce. December palladium PA1Z -2.06% traded down $3.15, or 0.5%, to $586.70 an ounce.
However, copper bucked the downbeat trend, with the December copper future HG1Z +0.17% adding 3 cents, or 1%, to $3.31 a pound.
