Gold rose on Monday, ending at its highest point since setting a record in May, as investors sprinted for safer havens on mounting worries that the eurozone debt crisis might spill into Italy. Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at $1,550.10 an ounce by 2:42 pm EDT (1841 GMT).
Earlier in the session, it hit a low of $1,541.40 an ounce as its latest run toward May's record high ran into heavy technical selling pressure near its three-week high of $1,557.75 an ounce. US gold August futures settled up $7.60 at $1,549.20 an ounce, after trading between $1,542.10 and $1,557.60. Silver fell 2.5 percent to $35.74 an ounce, taking a beating along with other industrial commodities, as investors opted for safe havens such as US Treasuries. The dollar index gained over 1 percent. Platinum and palladium were both lower on the day. Platinum was down 0.8 percent at $1,718.95 an ounce, while palladium fell 1.2 percent at $763.18.