MW: Gold falls slightly as oil declines, dollar turns higher
By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Gold futures fell slightly Tuesday as declining oil prices and a stronger dollar reduced the metal's appeal as a hedge against potential inflation and a weaker currency.
The U.S. dollar reversed earlier losses, turning higher as U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower opening. Crude oil declined in the first session in four, moving below $68 a barrel. Also weighing on gold prices, demand for exchange-traded funds remained weak.
"The dollar plus oil prices remain the major force behind gold markets," said Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc. "Other than that, we've seen retail investment demand has really simmered down, and we've also seen these ETFs leaking a bit of gold here and there."
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, August gold futures fell $3.80, or 0.4%, to $949.70 an ounce.
In the currency market Tuesday, the dollar turned higher against the euro. The dollar index (DXY 78.83, +0.20, +0.25%) , which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of major rivals, rose to 78.621, up from 78.609 late Monday.
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 92.72, -0.99, -1.06%) , the biggest gold ETF, stood at 1,086.61 metric tons as of Monday, down more than 40 metric tons from a month ago. The fund's holdings haven't seen significant increases in nearly two months.
Among other metals, copper for September delivery rose 1.65 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.562 a pound.
Silver for September delivery rose slightly to $13.99 an ounce. October platinum fell $5.30, or 0.4%, to $1,217.20 an ounce, while the September palladium contract fell 0.4% to $263 an ounce.
