By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — Investors headed for the perceived safety of the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, selling gold and other commodities as concerns about a potential Greek exit from the euro took center stage once again.
Gold futures for June delivery GCM2 -0.98% sank $20.10, or 1.3%, to $1,556.50 an ounce, extending the week’s decline to a third session.
The dollar rose across the board, as the euro tumbled ahead of a European Union informal summit for later Wednesday. Weighing were comments from former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos who told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview that considerations were being made for a potential Greece exit.
He also warned such an exit would be “catastrophic” for the country and the fallout across the entire euro zone would be severe. Papademos later clarified the comments in an interview with CNBC to say that he knew of no specific plans for a euro exit.
The euro EURUSD -0.17% dropped to its lowest level versus the dollar since August 2010, dropping to $1.2613, according to FactSet Research.
Other metals also fell. July silver SIN2 -1.40% fell 42 cents, or 1.5%, to $27.76 an ounce. Copper for the same month’s delivery HGN2 -1.62% shed 5 cents, or 1.4%, to $3.44 per pound.
July platinum PLN2 -1.91% fell $27.50, or nearly 2%, at $1,431.10 an ounce, while June palladium PAM2 -1.80% dropped $10.20, or 1.7%, to $605.35 an ounce
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
