Gold drops under pressure from stocks, dollar

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped on Wednesday as U.S. equities bounced back and the dollar hit its fresh four- year highs.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 2.5 U. S. dollars, or 0.20 percent, to settle at 1,219.5 dollars per ounce.

Gold fell on a sustained U.S. dollar rally. The ICE U.S. dollar index, a measure of the currency against six major rivals, jumped above 85.00, unseen since July 2010. The same index showed a rise of more than 6 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

A report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce showed that new home sales added an unexpected 18 percent in August to a much higher-than-expected annual rate of 504,000. Gold did not extend its losses after the release of this report, but stayed on a downward trend led by the continual strength in the U.S. dollar.

Silver for December delivery lost 7.7 cents, or 0.43 percent, to close at 17.702 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery fell 13.3 dollars, or 1.00 percent, to close at 1,319.4 dollars per ounce.