By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rallied on Monday, as global equity markets also surged on growing optimism that European leaders will take measures to bring the debt crisis under control.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z +1.61% rose $29.80 to $1,715.50 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex.
“Gold is currently continuing to behave more like a risky asset than a safe haven in times of crisis,” analysts at Commerzbank AG wrote in a note. “In our opinion, this is attributable to the behavior of futures-market players who feel less pressure to sell as their risk aversion declines.”
The rally in gold prices came as the dollar index DXY -0.87% , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, dropped 1% to 78.819.
Dollar weakness tends to boost dollar-denominated commodity prices as it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Oil futures also advanced, while U.S. stock futures pointed to an opening rally on Wall Street, buoyed by hopes that euro-zone leaders will make progress in tackling the sovereign-debt crisis roiling the region.
Silver futures also climbed, with the December contract SI1Z +3.18% up $1.05, or 3.4%, to $32.06 an ounce.
Polya Lesova is chief of MarketWatch’s London bureau.
