London - Gold slipped more than 3% in Europe on Monday as the surging dollar dented the precious metal's appeal as an inflation hedge, and as weakness on the equity markets prompted selling of gold to meet margin calls.
Other precious metals such as silver and platinum were caught up in the sell-off, with platinum sliding nearly 6% as traders worried over the demand outlook for the metal used in catalytic converters.
Spot gold was at $715.70/718.20 an ounce at 10:13 GMT, down from $733.30 an ounce in New York late on Friday. Earlier it touched a session low of $706.10.
"The dollar is part of the fall, and another component is fund selling," Standard Bank analyst Manqoba Madinane said. "There is just a general fear in the market. No-one knows where the floor is."
"The ongoing selling (of equities) will affect gold on the basis that funds need to get money out of the market," he added. "That will be negative for gold."
The market slipped as the stronger dollar dented gold's appeal as an alternative investment to the currency. The dollar hit a two-year high against the euro as risk-averse investors piled into the US currency and the yen.
European shares hit 5½ year lows, echoing a slide in Asia prompted by a surging yen, as investors feared a flurry of Central Bank action would fail to ward off a global recession.
Shares on the FTSEurorfirst 300 index slipped 5% in early trade, while emerging market equities fell to their lowest since September 2004. Gold is under pressure as funds liquidate their bullion holdings to cover losses on other markets.
"Financial deleveraging is overwhelming any safe haven buying (of gold)," said Calyon metals analayst Robin Bhar.
Oil falls
Sliding oil prices are adding to pressure on gold. The precious metal typically moves in line with crude, both because it can be bought as a hedge against oil-led inflation, and because falling oil prices often dent interest in commodities as an asset class.
"As long as crude oil remains in a downward trend, it is a burden for gold," investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort said in a research note.
Good demand for gold jewellery was seen over the weekend in India, the world's largest gold market, due to the Dhanteras festival on Sunday. However, sales are expected to slow after Diwali on Tuesday, traders said.
Among other precious metals, platinum tumbled almost 7% to a session low of $732.50 as the firmer dollar added to fears over weakening demand from carmakers, who account for around half of global platinum consumption.
Spot platinum later recovered to trade at $743.50/773.50 an ounce against $788.50 in New York late on Friday. Its sister metal palladium edged down to $163.50/173.50 an ounce from $167.
Silver tumbled in line with gold, shedding more than 6% to its session low of $8.70 an ounce, before recovering to trade at $8.81/8.91 against $9.30 an ounce.
Holdings of the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust, edged down 1% on Friday, the trust said.
- Reuters