By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures lost ground in electronic trading Monday, amid a stronger dollar, as commodity and equity markets sold off across the board.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z -0.14% fell $7.40, or 0.4%, to $1,852.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
“Sensitivity to the macro picture remains acute,” noted commodity strategists at Barclays Capital.
The retreat for gold came as stocks across Asia plunged amid renewed fears about Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, and oil prices headed south. Read more about Asia markets
The dollar index DXY +0.65% , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major rivals, rose to 77.40, from 77.066 late Friday in North American trading. Read more about currencies.
A stronger greenback tends to make gold and other dollar-priced commodities less attractive to holders of other currencies.
The broader metals complex also started the week on a downbeat note.
Silver for December delivery SI1Z -0.54% fell 85 cents, or 0.4%, to $41.27 an ounce.
December copper HG1Z -1.41% dropped 3 cents, or 0.7%, to $3.97 a pound.
Platinum and palladium also traded down, with October platinum PL1V +0.05% off by $11.00, or 0.6%, to $1,826.90 an ounce. October palladium PA1Z -0.34% lost $4.60, or 0.6%, to $734.00 an ounce.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
