By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) ? Gold futures wavered between gains and losses Monday as a rising dollar put a crimp on prices but worries about European sovereign debt again spurred investors toward the safety of bullion.
Gold for December delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f:gc\z10 (GCZ10 1,355, +2.60, +0.19%) �retreated 40 cents, less than 0.1%, to $1,352.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as low as $1,350.90 an ounce and as high as $1,364.80 an ounce.
?It?s going to be a pretty quiet week, so we?re going to see choppy, sideways market action,? said Matt Zeman, a trader at LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago.
Other metals got off on a mixed note to begin the holiday-shortened trading week, with silver rising but copper declining in early action.
?Gold prices should remain sensitive to sovereign-risk developments,? said James Steel, analyst at HSBC in New York.
?Bullion prices are likely to be influenced in the coming week by the Irish elections and the release of (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes,? he wrote in a note to clients.
Gold wobbled earlier on news that Ireland late Sunday had formally applied for aid from its European partners. As the size and scope of the bailout remained unclear, however, traders moved back toward the precious metal.
Worries also centered around problems that Portugal and Spain may be facing.
?Even with Ireland out of the day, people are going to start to look at Spain and Portugal? where problems, particularly in Spain, may be greater, LaSalle?s Zeman said.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery /quotes/comstock/21e!f1:si\z10 (SIZ10 2,747, +28.60, +1.05%) �also wavered, most recently adding 2 cents to $27.20 an ounce. December copper /quotes/comstock/21e!f:hg\z10 (HGZ10 374.75, -8.60, -2.24%) �retreated 9 cents, or 0.7%, to $3.74 a pound.
The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 78.74, +0.23, +0.29%) , which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, recovered to move up 0.2% to 78.72 on Monday.
A stronger dollar is negative for commodities as it makes them more expensive to holders of other currencies, diminishing their investment appeal.
Gold futures had edged lower on Friday, mostly amassing weekly losses, as China once more raised its reserve requirements for banks, rekindling fears of further steps to rein in inflation and, by extension, growth.
Gold lost 1% on the week, while silver and most other metals advanced on a weekly basis.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
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