US gold futures finished higher on Monday, racing up to their highest prices in 10 days as they tracked crude oil's rally to a 10-month high above $72 a barrel, traders said. Dollar weakness against the euro also kept gold prices supported.
A weaker dollar tends to bolster investment in dollar-denominated assets like gold in overseas markets. "(Gold rallied on) strength in the oil, and initially we had strength in the base metals, but that sold off later in the day, and (there was) clearly some weakness in the dollar against other currencies. Those are all factors that have been pushing gold around as of late," said Andy Monotone, a director at ScotiaMocatta in Toronto.
Most-active gold futures for August on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled with $1.20 gains at $659.90 an ounce, down from peaks at $662.90, a level last seen on June 8. The low was $658.0 an ounce. A quick round of profit taking around pulled gold off its highs to finish with more modest gains.
But a looming general strike in Nigeria and attacks on its oil installations cut more supply from the world's eighth largest exporter, and dollar declines kept a sturdy support under yellow metal prices.
"There was a setback on gold last week because of interest rates trying to move a little on the upside. But now, because of Nigerian turmoil, oil has moved up and gold along with it," said one New York gold broker.
Oil surged above $72 a barrel on Monday to a 10-month high on the Nigerian news. Low US gasoline inventories at a time of peak summer demand, a possible oil workers' strike in Brazil next month, and Opec's reluctance to boost oil output also helped boost the market, analysts said.
Meanwhile, the dollar lost ground against the euro on Monday, falling with a slide in US bond yields after data on Friday showed underlying consumer price gains were smaller than expected last month.
The news sparked a US Treasury market rally that pulled US yields off a five-year peak hit last week and pushed the euro to highs last seen in June. Strong technical patterns also helped gold, which received strong physical buying interest last week in the key $647 to $650 an ounce area in the August futures contract.
"There's acceptance of these levels from the actual users. I think we might see some choppy sideways movement as it (August gold) builds a base. And I expect the investor community to come back as they have in the past on the buy side and probably move us to further price gains," a trader said.
Comex estimated final gold volume at 41,285 lots, compared with 57,541 lots on Friday. Spot gold firmed to $656.40/7.90 an ounce on Monday, up from a late on Friday quote at $654.50/6.0 an ounce.
Overnight, it hit a 10-day peak at $659.05. London banks set the afternoon gold fix at $656.0 an ounce. Comex July silver finished 2.50 cents lower at $13.2350 an ounce. The range spanned $13.20 to $13.3950. On Monday trade, spot silver was at $13.21/3.25 an ounce, even with Friday. The London silvers fix jumped to $13.31 an ounce.
Nymex July platinum gained $13.50 to $1,299.50 an ounce by the end. Spot platinum rose to $1,290/1,294. September palladium was up $1.50 to end at $375.00 an ounce. Spot palladium stood late at $369.0/372.0.