Gold futures settled lower Monday as a rally in the U.S. dollar kept a lid on precious metals.
COMEX gold for December 2011 delivery – the most actively-traded contract – closed lower by $9.70, or 0.5%, at $1,778.40 per ounce. The yellow metal traded in a relatively narrow range today, between $1,775 and $1,785 for most of the session.
Silver futures posted more substantial losses, as the COMEX December 2011 contract fell $0.52, or 1.5%, to $34.16 per ounce.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) – which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of the world’s leading currencies – advanced 0.7% to 77.483. The euro currency – which makes up 57.6% of the DXY – dropped 1.3% to 1.3627 against the dollar this afternoon as sovereign debt concerns remained at the forefront of European headlines.
Cyclical commodities were mixed, with crude oil lower by 0.9% at $98.10 per barrel and copper futures up 0.8% at $3.49 per pound.
West Kirkland Reports New Discovery at Kirkland Lake
* Due to the observation of coarse visible gold in the core and the high grade nature of some of the results, the Company is submitting select samples for metallic screen assays
* West Kirkland intends to begin drilling more than 2,000 meters to follow up on these results