MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gold and oil prices end lower

Gold prices fell yesterday, as a rise in the dollar and weaker oil prices encouraged investors to sell, though the correction since last week's highs has not changed bullish market sentiment

But the market was poised for volatility as the year draws to a close, traders said. A rally in early overnight trade had fizzled by the time New York floor trade opened.

Technicals and expectations for a slower US economy were expected to keep investors bullish toward gold, however, which rose more than 10 percent in 2-1/2 weeks before retreating on Friday.

"From here, we still favour the upside in gold. Positive weekly closes will do much to encourage technical traders and we still believe investors have inclinations to get short the dollar and that they will look to buy gold as well," said John Reade, analyst at UBS Investment Bank.

But the performance of precious metals in the short term might be determined by base metal prices, he added.

Copper fell to a four-month low and lead tumbled 12 percent as people took profits on growing worries about rising stocks.

"The combination of lower crude oil prices and the base metals decline is really a powerful enough cocktail to get the market to take some profits," said James Steel, senior analyst at HSBC. "I think you could reasonably argue that a correction is in hand without undermining the overall bullish stance of the market."