Gold futures rise as crude oil climbs

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

Last Update: 7/21/2008 12:41:00 PM

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold futures gained to trade near $964 an ounce Monday,
getting a boost from rising oil prices and mixed trading in the U.S. dollar.

Gold for August delivery gained $7 to $965 an ounce on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.

Earlier, gold hit an intraday high of $966.50 an ounce.

“I think the market was a bit oversold last week and it seems [that] for lack of
a better trade today, gold seems to be catching a small bid,” said Zachary Oxman,
a senior trader at Wisdom Financial.

On Friday, gold dropped $12.70 to end at $958 an ounce. It posted a weekly
decline of $2.60.

“The new week started out on a firm note in the precious-metals complex as a
combination of geopolitics and weather boosted crude-oil prices,” said Jon
Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers.

Crude futures rose Monday for the first time in five sessions, rebounding from
last week’s weekly loss, after multilateral talks over Iran’s nuclear program
didn’t progress and as Tropical Storm Dolly headed into the Gulf of Mexico. See
Futures Movers.
Click for Detail

“Despite the early strength in metals, most charts’ patterns remain uninspiring,”
said Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global, in a research note.

“Moreover, if oil prices start to fade again, likely in our view despite the
current bounce, the downward pressure on metals could resume,” Meir said.

The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies, though it found some
support after Bank of America (BAC) beat Wall Street expectations with a
smaller-than-expected drop in second-quarter profit. Read more.
Click for Detail

The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of
currencies, fell 0.1% to 72.08.

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