By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Gold futures extended their fall in electronic trading Tuesday as the U.S. dollar edged higher after Standard & Poor’s warned of possible credit-rating downgrades on 15 euro-zone nations.
Gold for February delivery GC2G -1.17% shed $11.70, or 0.7%, to $1,722.80 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours. Read more about S&P’s negative outlook on the European nations’ debt.
The precious metal had declined in a regular session overnight on signs of progress toward a resolution of the euro-zone debt crisis. Gold prices remained weak as the dollar strengthened after S&P’s warning, affecting prices of most commodities denominated in the greenback, including gold.
Prices of other precious metals also weakened on the dollar’s strength, with March silver futures SI2H -1.61% slipping 0.8% to $32.12 an ounce, while the January platinum contract PL2F -1.37% eased 0.8% to $1,520.50 an ounce.
The ICE dollar index DXY +0.17% , which measures the greenback’s performance against six other major currencies, was at 78.722, versus 78.654 in late North American trading. Read more about currencies.
Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau.
