CHICAGO, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed higher on Monday, as the precious metal was boosted by a weaker U.S. dollar as well as the loss in benchmark U.S. stock indices.
The most active gold contract for February delivery was up 10.40 dollars, or 0.84 percent, to settle at 1,251.80 dollars per ounce.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the buck against six rivals, went down 0.3 percent to 97.13 as of 1710 GMT.
Gold usually moves in opposite directions with the U.S. dollar, which means if the dollar goes strong, gold futures will fall as gold, priced in U.S. dollar, becomes expensive for investors using other currencies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 631.74 points, or 2.62 percent as of 1955 GMT. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also followed Dow's plunge. When equities post losses, investors may start to buy safe-haven assets, such as gold.
As for other precious metals, silver for March delivery rose 12.20 cents, or 0.83 percent, to settle at 14.759 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery went up 10.60 dollars, or 1.35 percent, to close at 795.9 dollars per ounce. Enditem
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