US gold futures ended nearly 3 percent lower on Wednesday as a combination of a rising dollar, falling oil and recovering equities prompted heavy liquidation after sell-stops were triggered. August settles down $25.70, or 2.7 percent, at $922.80 an ounce on the COMEX division of New York Mercantile Exchange.
The low was $918.80, a two-week bottom. A sharp drop in crude oil prices hurt gold's inflation hedge appeal. US crude futures down $4, below $125 a barrel. Estimated final volume at 230,375 lots, options turnover at 15,787 lots. COMEX gold futures open interest down 1,062 lots at 475,606 lots as of July 22.
Spot gold at $921.35/922.95 at 2:15 pm EDT (1815 GMT) compared with $948.30/949.90 late Tuesday. London's afternoon gold fix $926.50. September silver ends down 54.7 cents, or 3.0 percent, at $17.458 an ounce, tracking the weakness of precious metals. Ranged from $18.055 to $17.320, which was a three-week low. Estimated final volume at 36,606 lots. Spot silver at $17.33/17.38 compared with $18.00/18.08 late Tuesday.
October platinum finishes down $47.40, or 2.6 percent, at $1,760.80 an ounce. Platinum group metals slide on fears that slow global car sales could dampen PGM's autocatalyst demand. Spot platinum at $1,744.00/1,764.00. September palladium closes down $19.35, or 4.7 percent, at $392.15 an ounce, following platinum's weakness. Spot palladium at $383.00/391.00.
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