Gold was steady on Monday after briefly falling below $990 an ounce, as the euro trimmed some losses versus the dollar, but bullion looked vulnerable to a long liquidation after it failed to stay above $1,000 an ounce.

Physical demand was also supportive for the precious metal, traders said, who saw the jewellery demand picking as as the festive period in India, one of the top gold consumers of the world, approches.

Spot gold was at $991 an ounce by 1121 GMT, slightly up from $990.95 an ounce late in New York on Friday, when gold hit a two-week low of $984.70 an ounce.

“The stronger dollar is the reason which pushed gold below the $1,000 an ounce level,” said Eugen Weinberg, Commerzbank analyst said. “On the other hand, we’d expect a pick-up in physical demand if prices decline ahead of the festive season.”

Gold’s inverse relationship with the dollar over the past few weeks

Gold and silver prices climbed to their highest in seven weeks on Monday, as the dollar’s slide to its lowest since mid-December boosted interest in hard assets.

Spot gold hit an intra-day high of $961.00 an ounce, its highest since June 11, and was bid at $959.10 an ounce at 1329 GMT, against $953.90 an ounce late in New York on Friday.

U.S. gold futures for August delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $5.70 to $959.40 an ounce.

“At the moment we’re seeing the dollar as the key factor to movements in the gold market,” said Eugen Weinberg, senior analyst at Commerzbank.

“In the past few months (gold) has gone from being a safe haven to becoming a dollar play. The dollar right now is so weak because no one is looking for a safe haven — because corporate results are so good and stock markets are performing so well.”

Silver was

The base metals took another bath in blood on Monday. Copper plunged from the pre-dawn hours to the New York open, rallied back to mid-morning, but then sold off again to finish just off its intraday lows at $2.2643/lb., down 8 cents.

Nickel fell back to $6.80, held there until mid-morning, but took a second beating from there to end at $6.6247/lb., down 38¾ cents. Zinc hit the same morning sell point, going from near even to just off its intraday lows at $0.6972/lb., down 4¾ cents. Aluminum rallied late in the day but still shed more than a penny and a half, to $0.7149/lb., while lead also bombed out, dropping 5 cents, to $0.7463/lb.

Copper led the second straight day of major retreat among the industrial metals, as the stronger dollar hammered commodities across the board.

And, as MF Global analyst Edward Meir put it, “The correction is likely

The base metals were modestly lower on Tuesday. Copper pushed above $2.32 in the pre-dawn hours, but sold off from there to the New York open, then traded flat through the day, finishing at $2.2664/lb., down nearly 2 cents.

Nickel traded tightly rangebound between $6.45 and $6.60, closing at $6.5468/lb., down less than a penny. Zinc also fell sharply from its pre-dawn highs, ending at $0.6976/lb., down a penny and a third. Aluminum drifted lower, dropping just under a penny, to $0.6486/lb., while lead held up well, shedding less than a quarter-cent, to $0.7458/lb.

Nothing goes in a straight line for long, and yesterday copper led the industrial metals through an overdue cooling-off day, amid widespread speculation that they may have gotten ahead of themselves.

Along with simple profit-taking, of course. Copper has now surged 63% this year, despite slack demand.

Alex Heath, the head of industrial metals trading at RBC Capital Markets

The base metals were all basking in the green again on Friday. Copper had another strong day, pushing steadily higher from the pre-dawn hours to the noon hour, after which it came off a little to finish at $2.1688/lb., up 4 cents.

Nickel was choppier but had an upward bias, closing just off its intraday high at $6.2271/lb., up nearly 11 cents. Zinc followed copper’s path closely, ending at $0.6828/lb., up 2½ cents. Aluminum moved ahead, tacking on more than a penny, to $0.6353/lb., while lead made a powerful move, adding 3 2/3 cents, to $0.705/lb.

Copper led the industrials higher for a second day in a row, and ended May with its fifth straight monthly gain, as traders rode the declining dollar and those elusive green shoots northward.

Copper is now up 56% on the year, as commodities in general have done well. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodity futures posted

Gold rose in Europe on Friday, building on the previous session’s near 3 percent gains, as Wall Street’s slide to 12-year lows curbed appetite for equities and the dollar tumbled ahead of U.S. jobs data later this session.

Investors spooked by volatility in other assets such as currencies and equities are buying the metal as a safe store of value, analysts said.

Spot gold climbed to $938.80/939.80 an ounce at 1014 GMT from $932.00 late in New York on Thursday. Earlier it touched a high of $941.90.

“Gold is considered in the first instance at the moment an insurance premium and a safe haven,” said Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg. “It is the equity markets and risk aversion that are moving the market.”

The precious metal rose on Thursday as U.S. stocks tumbled to 12-year lows after General Motors said it was facing

European shares gain for third consecutive session… Euro up against dollar, yen as risk aversion ebbs …  SPDR Gold Trust ETF, iShares silver ETF at record

Gold slipped on Wednesday as investors cashed in profits after the precious metal hit a three-month high earlier this week, with a recovery in stock markets indicating the beginnings of a revival in risk appetite.

Spot gold was quoted at $892.10/894.10 an ounce at 1510 GMT, down from $897.35 late on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures for February delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped $6.80 to $892.70 an ounce.

Gold has been well supported by investors’ fears over systemic risk and the outlook for the economy, which sent the metal to a three-month high on Monday. But signs are emerging that this risk aversion is ebbing, prompting some profit taking.

“Technically, the daily charts

…

Firm U.S. dollar weighs on sentiment… Slips from 1-week high as oil prices ease…

Gold rose to its highest in a week on Monday before trimming gains as the dollar strengthened against the euro and oil prices eased, analysts said.

“It is mostly a story about the U.S. dollar, equity markets and inflation at the moment,” analyst Eugen Weinberg at Commerzbank said.

Gold had little incentive to move higher, with oil prices sliding, but firm buying once prices moved towards $800 an ounce created a floor, he said.

Gold rose as high as $845.55 an ounce, its highest level since Jan. 12, before trading at $831.85 an ounce by 1516 GMT, down 1.2 percent from $841.85 in New York late on Friday, as oil prices reversed course and slipped.

Demand from the jewelry industry was seen weak this year, accounting for 70 percent of total

Dollar touches fresh 3-week high versus the euro…  ETF Securities reports 2 pct rise in gold ETF holdings… Platinum, palladium rise to multi-week highs…

Gold fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday as a stronger dollar dented the precious metal’s appeal as a currency hedge, but the platinum group metals rallied as investors hunted for bargains.

Spot gold was quoted at $846.50/848.10 an ounce at 1444 GMT, down from $858.90 late in New York on Monday. However, it lifted off an earlier low of $838.55 as the dollar trimmed gains against the euro after a raft of U.S. data at 1500 GMT.

U.S. gold futures for February delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were down $10.10 at $847.70.

VM Group analyst Matthew Turner said investors were looking to the currency markets for direction. “A lot of news on physical

The base metals were mixed on Friday. Copper bottomed below $1.48 in the pre-dawn hours, but then pushed higher until the late morning, when it came off its highs to finish at $1.5752/lb., up 5½ cents. Nickel rose from the pre-dawn hours to mid-morning, trailed off, but then rallied late to close at $4.5503/lb., up 9¼ cents.

Zinc also rallied until mid-morning, but then eased for the rest of the day, ending at $0.5256/lb., down more than a third of a cent. Aluminum peaked in the pre-dawn hours but sank through the day, just coming off its intraday low at $0.7759/lb., down three-quarters of a cent, while lead followed aluminum closely, winding up with a loss of a third of a cent, at $0.5259/lb.

Copper rebounded from a fresh 3½-year low to post a day of solid gains amid a great deal of short covering.

Still, most analysts continue to