By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose above $950 an ounce Monday, climbing to their highest level in more than five weeks as a weaker dollar and higher oil prices boosted the metal's appeal as a hedge against a weak currency and rising inflation.
Other metals also moved broadly higher. Copper futures, an important gauge of economic growth, rose to the highest level in nine months.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, August gold gained $15.70, or 1.7%, to $953.20 an ounce. It rallied to $954.90 earlier, the highest intraday level since June 11.
"The weaker U.S. dollar and rising oil prices gave gold another boost," said Barbara Lambrecht, an analyst at Commerzebank, in a note. However, "a change in sentiment could potentially trigger a sharper price correction."
Despite gold's recent gains, some data suggested investment interest still remained weak.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 93.61, +1.68, +1.83%) , the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, stood at 1,094.54 an ounce as of Friday, down 0.31 metric tons from a day ago, according to latest data from the fund. Holdings are now down 37.61 metric tons from a month ago.
Meanwhile, on the Comex, gold buying positions held by big speculators such as hedge funds and investment banks fell by 4,682 contracts in the week ended July 14 to 185,704, the lowest level since the week ended May 12, according to a latest report from the futures market regulator.
More than 60% of outstanding contracts were held by speculators, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders report released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. One contract represents 100 ounces of gold.
In other metals Monday, July copper gained 4.75 cents, or 2%, to $2.4615 a pound. It rose to $2.48 earlier, the highest level for a front-month contract since mid October. The more active September contract rose 3.6 cents, or 1.5%, to $2.459 a pound.
Copper inventories at the London Metal Exchange rose to 264,150 metric tons Friday, up 3,275 metric tons from a day ago, according to latest data from the exchange. Inventories were still down 19,025 metric tons from a month ago.
Also on Monday, October platinum rose $9.90, or 0.8%, to $1,186 an ounce, and September palladium added $2.30, or 0.9%, to $251.90 an ounce. September silver advanced 28.2 cents, or 2.1%, to $13.685 a pound.
The dollar moved lower against most of its major rivals. Crude oil futures rose near $65 a barrel.
