Gold price drops for 3rd day as dollar climbs

London (Jun 15)  Gold fell for a third day as the dollar strengthened. Platinum dropped to a six-year low.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 trading partners, rose 0.2 percent. The euro weakened against most of its counterparts after talks between Greece and creditors broke down without a deal on bailout aid.

“It is the currencies that are making the moves that are pushing the precious metals around,” Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault, said by phone from London. “Gold is caught between expectations of a Fed rate hike and on the other side is Greece.”

Bullion for immediate delivery slid 0.6 percent to $1,174.72 an ounce at 11:21 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. Earlier, the metal rose as much as 0.4 percent. Gold for August delivery fell 0.2 percent to $1,176.60 on the Comex in New York.

Gold and the Dollar Index have moved in opposite directions for eight sessions, the longest run since November 2014.

The 30-day correlation between the two was negative 0.65, a six-month low, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A reading of 1 would signal the two moved in lockstep in the same direction, and minus 1 reflects opposite movements.

Platinum for immediate delivery fell as much as 1.3 percent to $1,080.59 an ounce, the lowest since 2009. The metal trades at the biggest discount to gold since January 2013.

Silver retreated 0.6 percent to $15.8821 an ounce. Palladium lost as much as 0.7 percent to $733.41 an ounce, the lowest since March 31.

 Source: Mineweb