(MENAFN- FxPro) Gold prices climbed above the $1,100-level on Monday, as investors sought shelter from steep losses in global equity markets.
Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped $18.70, or 1.72%, to trade at $1,104.70 a troy ounce during European morning hours.
The Shanghai Composite tumbled more than 8% on Monday, the biggest one-day drop since February 2007, on weak industrial profits and amid reports that government buying of stocks and securities has slowed.
Equity markets in China plunged sharply earlier this month, forcing policymakers to intervene and provide measures to boost liquidity and calm investors.
Stock markets in Europe were also sharply lower after the open, with the EURO STOXX 50, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX 30 all dropping more than 1%.
On Friday, gold plunged to $1,072.30, a level not seen since February 2010, before closing at $1,085.50, down $8.60, or 0.79%. Prices of the precious metal tumbled $44.80, or 4.08%, the fifth straight weekly loss.
Gold has been under heavy selling pressure in recent months amid speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for the first time in nine years as soon as September.
Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for September delivery rallied 20.7 cents, or 1.43%, to trade at $14.69 a troy ounce. Silver prices lost 34.2 cents, or 2.33%, last week, the fifth consecutive weekly decline.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for September delivery hit an intraday low of $2.355 a pound, a level not seen since June 2009, before trading at $2.370 during morning hours in London, down 1.2 cents, or 0.52%.
Copper prices lost 11.5 cents, or 4.57%, last week, the fourth consecutive weekly fall, as concerns over the health of China's economy weighed.
Data on Friday showed that manufacturing activity in China slowed to a 15-month low in July. The preliminary reading of the Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 48.2 from a final reading of 49.4 in June.
The Asian nation is the world's largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last at 96.58, down 0.78% for the day.
Investors looked ahead to the upcoming Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement later this week to see if policymakers will give any indication on the timing of a rate lift-off.
The dollar has been boosted in recent weeks by mounting expectations that the U.S. central bank could raise rates as soon as September if the economy continues to improve as expected.
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