Gold fell on Monday, outperforming tumbling crude oil and grain markets as economic uncertainty related to last week's monetary stimulus unleashed by US Federal Reserve boosted the metal's safe-haven appeal. Spot gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,757.69 an ounce by 3:34 pm EDT (1934 GMT), having risen by 2 percent last week. The metal has gained around 10 percent since late August on hopes that central bank stimulus around the world would revive a stagnant global economy.
US COMEX gold futures for December delivery settled down $2.10 at $1,770.60 an ounce, with trading volume at about 40 percent below its 250-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed. Among other precious metals, silver fell 1.7 percent at $34.01 an ounce. Platinum dropped 1.9 percent to $1,662.74 an ounce, while palladium tumbled 3.3 percent to $674.20.