Steeper retreat for silver, down 5%; platinum, palladium also lower By Myra P. Saefong and V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold prices slipped further away from the $1,600-an-ounce level Wednesday, headed for a fifth straight losing session, unable to get much support as buying interest was scarce in thin year-end trade. The February gold futures contract GC2G -2.09% fell $30.60, or 1.9%, to $1,564.90 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had fallen $10.50 on Tuesday to tally a four-session loss of 1.4%. For the month to date, they’re trading around 11% lower, putting gold on track for a gain of about 10% on the year. With Dec. 31 looming, “the current mood of thin cautious trade looks set to continue as traders position themselves for year-end,� said James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a note. However, gold’s failure to reclaim the 200-day moving average of $1,627.70 leaves the metal “vulnerable to further pressure over the short to medium term, and could suggest a weak start to 2012 as cash concerns intensify,� he said. In foreign-exchange trading, the dollar gained against major currencies as the euro retreated, adding further pressure to dollar-denominated gold prices. The dollar index DXY +0.84% , which tracks the U.S. unit’s performance against six major currencies, climbed to 80.458 from 79.792 late Tuesday. Read more on euro’s pullback below $1.30. Other precious metals slumped as well Wednesday, with the March contract for silver SI2H -5.08% dropping 5%, or $1.44, to $27.30 an ounce. Silver futures are trading around 12% lower for the year to date. March palladium PA2H -3.92% shed $22.50, or 3.4%, to $644.10 an ounce and April futures for platinum PL2J -3.32% declined $44.80, or 3.1%, to $1,393.10 an ounce. Faring better, copper for March delivery HG2H -0.91% lost 4 cents, or 1%, to $3.38 a pound. Myra Saefong is a MarketWatch reporter based in San Francisco. Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau.

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