Gold futures rise on weak dollar

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended higher Monday as a weak U.S. dollar helped the precious metal to make its first gain in three sessions. The most active gold contract for December delivery rose 1.5 U. S. dollars, or 0.11 percent, to settle at 1,314.7 dollars per ounce. Gold prices slipped 2.7 percent in the past two trading sessions to close Friday at their lowest level since mid-October. Market analysts say, the buoyant U.S. stock market and comments from Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, are putting pressure on gold trading. However, the weakness in the dollar is helping gold go back to positive territory. Fisher said on Monday he wouldn't rule out backing a tapering of the central bank's debt purchases by March, and that tapering of bond buys could come sooner than expected, according to reports. The ICE dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's strength against six currencies, edged down to 80.606 Monday from 80.744 late Friday. The index rose nearly 2 percent last week. Silver for December delivery fell 13.7 cents, or 0.63 percent, to close at 21.700 dollars per ounce.