China's economic slowdown keeps copper from gaining Gold futures finished lower on Tuesday as a global rout in commodities weighed on the precious metal. December gold gave up $4.90 , or 0.4%, to settle at $1,126.80 an ounce on Comex, a day after the metal recorded its largest single-day point and percentage drop since early September. Prices also fell 0.7% on Friday. Meanwhile, December silver gained 3.5 cents , or 0.2%, to $14.573 an ounce after a nearly 3.8% drop Monday. While gold and silver "continue to consolidate, they are moving as a monetary asset," said Julian Phillips , founder of and contributor to GoldForecaster.com. "To us, it is reminiscent to 2008 when gold fell back from its high of $1,200 as markets collapsed, before moving up to its peak of $1,921 ." "The big questions remains, 'are we about to see a situation similar to 2008?'," he said. "Certainly, global market moods are pointing that way." The slide in gold comes amid a broad selloff in commodities that has sent many metals, including copper, to monthly and multiyear lows on fears that China , one of the biggest importers of metals, is facing a sharp economic slowdown. Gold "has been behaving more like a raw commodity and less like a safe-haven asset recently, and that's bearish given the present slump in the raw commodity sector," said Jim Wyckoff , senior analyst at Kitco.com. Read: Cratering Glencore bodes ill for miners, commodities firms (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cratering-glencore-bodes-ill-for-miners-commodities-firms-2015-09-28) Expectations the Federal Reserve may soon raise interest rates have helped provide a boost to the dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-strengthens-after-strong-consumer-confidence-data-2015-09-29) which, in turn, weighs on dollar-denominated assets like gold, making them more expensive to investors buying commodities in other currencies. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index wavered against currency rivals on Tuesday, but it's gained about 0.4% quarter to date. The greenback got a bit of a boost after data Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence rose slightly (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-confidence-improves-in-september-2015-09-29) in September. Looking further ahead for gold, the market will soon enter a period where seasonal patterns begin to turn bullish, due to India's Diwali festival and wedding season, said Ken Ford , president of Warwich Valley Financial Advisors . "Positive seasonality means that the wind will be at gold's back if price begins to rally." The Diwali holiday begins on Nov. 11 . In other metals, October platinum , which has hit new multiyear lows on the back of the Volkswagen Inc. (VOW.XE)(VOW.XE) (VOW.XE) (VOW.XE) emission-test scandal, fell $5.40 , or 0.6%, to $917.10 an ounce, while December palladium , a beneficiary of the German auto maker's problems, added $5.85 , or 0.9%, to $657.70 an ounce. December high-grade copper ended flat at $2.252 a pound after a 1.4% loss a day earlier. - Myra P. Saefong ; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires (END) Dow Jones Newswires 09-29-15 1406ET
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