SINGAPORE, Gold strengthened further on Monday as falling equities

4:57 AM

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SINGAPORE, Gold strengthened further on Monday as falling equities
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SINGAPORE: Gold strengthened further on Monday as falling equities and lingering worries about a debt crisis in Europe drew investors to the precious metal, which posted its the biggest quarterly gain this year, but a firm US dollar could still cap gains

Spot gold added $9.29 an ounce to $1,632.24 by 0308 GMT. Gold had posted a quarterly gain of 8 per cent -- its biggest this year, despite a drop of 11 per cent for September, its largely monthly decline in three years.

US gold rose $11.7 to $1,634 an ounce. Gold jumped to a lifetime high around $1,920 an ounce in early September after the euro fell against the dollar on growing doubts about Europe's ability to solve its debt crisis.

European Central Bank member Christian Noyer said on Monday it is unrealistic to expect an increase in Europe's bailout fund beyond what was agreed in July, but that he is open to schemes that would allow leveraging to expand capacity.

Jitters over the spiralling European debt crisis, European banks' exposure to sovereign debt and a slowing global economy caused investors to cut their bets on risky assets in the July-September quarter, sending the euro down almost 10 cents versus the dollar over the period.

In the physical market, tight supply persisted after a recent drop in bullion prices triggered aggressive buying across Asia.