Gold lower in New York

Gold futures in New York tumbled on Monday to close at a 10-day low, as a stronger dollar, falling oil price and gains in the stock market touched off a round of heavy fund selling, dealers and analysts said.
Silver slumped to a 3-1/2-week low on the speculative liquidation that spilled over from gold and copper, while platinum and palladium settled mixed.
In gold, traders also were mulling over what Barrack Gold's surprise take-over bid for Canadian competitor Placer Dome could mean for bullion prices.
Though there was more immediate concern about the risk of a shakeout in the overbought gold market, players focused on the longer-term implications of the blockbuster $9.2 billion deal, which would create a gold mining giant rivalling Denver-Based Newmont as the world's largest producer.
Benchmark December gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division plummeted $7.90, or 1.7 percent, to close at $466.90 an ounce its cheapest settlement since October 20.
The day's range ran from $475.60 to $466.50. "There really wasn't much working in gold's favour," said David Rinehimer, head of commodities research at Citicorp Global Markets in New York.
Gold also lost some of its allure for investors as an inflation hedge and as an alternative currency on Monday, as crude oil fell to below $60 a barrel and as the dollar rose 0.6 percent against the euro.
"The market is just too long. The dollar is a bit stronger so your forces have taken over," said Bruce Dunn, a trader at bullion dealing firm Aureate.
"I think people thought it would be slightly bullish and now some weak longs are starting to liquidate," he said, calling the Barrack deal "big stuff."
Dunn said commodity funds bought gold as a long-term play, expecting prices to rise above $500, and a $20 pullback would not spook them. "You will have your consolidation and correction phases, but overall the gold market still looks pretty healthy," he said.
"Any time the market dips it seems like nothing more than a buying opportunity." Final estimated Comex gold volume was 62,000 contracts, compared with Friday's count of 44,450 lots.
Open interest slipped 433 lots to 346,308 lots on October 28. Spot gold was at $464.80/465.60 an ounce, way below on Friday's New York close at $473.10/473.80.
On Monday's afternoon fix by London bullion dealers was at $4700.75. December silver tumbled 24 cents to close at $7.58 an ounce, trading from $7.845-7.575, which marked its cheapest close since October 5.
Spot silver fetched $7.52/55, from $7.75/78 previously. It fixed at $7.765. Nymex January platinum rose $1.40 to $943.20 an ounce. Spot platinum was at $936/940.
December palladium lost $3.15 to finish at $227.15 an ounce. Spot palladium last was at $222/226.