Gold slipped on Friday and was on course for its biggest monthly decline since 1983, as oil fell on recession fears, the dollar firmed and stocks reversed gains, forcing investors to cash in to stem losses. US gross domestic product shrank at an annual rate of 0.3 percent for the third quarter.
The sharpest fall in the world's largest economy in seven years, spurring a broad commodities sell-off on concerns over weakening fundamentals. The US dollar's rebound also weighed. Platinum fell more than 5 percent as slowing economies around the globe and the widespread credit crisis caused the largest auto industry companies to slash full-year profit targets, warn of job losses and push for speedy government handouts.
Gold was at $731.75 an ounce, down $3.75 from New York's notional close on Thursday, when it rose for a fourth straight day to its strongest in a week at $776.30 an ounce. Premiums for gold bars eased to $1.70 an ounce to the spot London prices from $3 last week after holders cashed in on this week's rally.
Gold has lost as much as 21 percent of its value this month alone, and is down 12 percent this year. Platinum was trading at $772.50 ounce, down $44.50 from New York's notional close. It has lost more than 60 percent of its value since hitting a lifetime high of $2,290 in March, mainly due to worries about falling demand for autocatalysts.
As the strong yen forced Japanese carmakers Mazda and Mitsubishi to slash full-year targets, struggling US automakers were looking to obtain billions from the US government to help them survive. More than 60 percent of global platinum use goes to autocatalysts to clean exhaust fumes. New York gold futures fell $5.3 an ounce to $733.2.
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