Gold fell for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, touching its lowest in nearly six months, as year-end liquidation by funds and early losses due to the euro pushed it the brink of being a bear market. Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,545.80 an ounce by 2:45 pm EST (1945 GMT). It has earlier hit a low of $1,521.94, the weakest since July 6.
The metal was at one point down more than 20 percent from its record high of $1,920.30 set on September 6, flirting with the common definition of a bear market. US gold February futures settled down $23.20 at $1,540.90 an ounce. Trading volume was on track to be the highest in the last three weeks.
Silver rose 1.3 percent to $27.40 an ounce, up sharply from its session low of $26.19, which came within striking distance of a 13-month low. Platinum group metals fell on gold's weakness, with platinum down 1.1 percent at $1,367.24 an ounce, and palladium also down 1.1 percent at $627.34 an ounce.