Gold falls with higher dollar, ends quarter up 11 percent

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell Friday as a higher dollar pressured trading, but ended the third quarter up around 11 percent. The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 6.6 dollars, or 0.37 percent, to settle at 1,773.9 dollars per ounce. After rising sharply in the previous trading session to close at a seven-month high, gold reversed course Friday and fell moderately on the session. Although the precious metal ended the week with a 0.2 percent weekly loss, gold climbed more than five percent over the month of September and closed out the third quarter with around an 11 percent gain. That was gold's strongest quarterly performance since a 12 percent second quarter increase notched in 2010. Gold had rallied this month after the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank announced more quantitative easing measures. Such polices are positive for gold, as the precious metal traditionally rises on inflation concerns. While quantitative easing policies provide the precious metal with underlying support, gold trading saw pressure Friday from a sharply higher dollar. The greenback soared after the release of stress test results for Spanish banks showed recapitalization needs of 59.3 billion euros. A stronger dollar is a negative force for commodities, as it makes them more expensive to holders of other currencies. Other outside market forces were mixed, as the session saw a gain in crude oil, but losses in U.S. equities. Silver for December delivery fell 8.9 cents, or 0.26 percent, to close at 34.577 dollars per ounce.