Precious metals lose shine; platinum dips to 11-week low

Gold dropped below USD 960 an ounce on Friday on a recovery in stock markets and recent weakness in oil, while platinum fell to its lowest level in more than two months on fears about falling demand for autocatalysts, reports Economic Times.



Gold fell to USD 955.60/958.50 an ounce from USD 962.10/963.10 an ounce late in New York on Thursday - off a four-month high of USD 987.75 an ounce hit on Tuesday.



Oil added 87 cents to USD 130.16 a barrel after falling more than USD 5 a day in previous session on growing worries over US demand.



Investors buy gold as a hedge against inflation, and fears of rising energy costs helped propelled the metal to a lifetime high of USD 1,030.80 in March.



Spot platinum fell USD 1,858.50/1,878.50 an ounce from USD 1,881/1,901 an ounce late in New York on Thursday, having hit an intraday low of USD 1,858.00 an ounce - its lowest level since May 2. Platinum was hit by a gloomy outlook for the global economy which deepened fears over demand from carmakers for autocatalysts, of which the white metal is a major component.