2021.10.0418:25:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Higher For 3rd Straight Day

Gold futures settled higher on Monday, gaining for a third straight session, thanks to a weak dollar.

The safe-haven asset found support following a sell-off in stock markets amid concerns the regulatory crackdowns and a collapse at Evergrande could hurt an already fragile Chinese economy and drag on global growth.

The dollar index, which dropped to 93.68 subsequently regained some lost ground, but at $93.80, was still 0.25% down from the previous close.

Gold futures for December ended higher by $9.20 or about 0.5% at $1,767.60 an ounce, a near two-week high.

Silver futures for December ended up by $0.108 at $22.644 an ounce, while Copper futures for December settled at $4.2385 per pound, gaining $0.0500.

Worries about China's property sector have risen following the suspension of troubled property developer China Evergrande's shares in Hong Kong on reports that another major developer was planning to buy its property management unit.

Debt-laden Evergrande missed a key interest payment for the second time last week as it struggles to refinance over $300 billion in liabilities.

A report released by the Commerce Department this morning showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods jumped by more than expected in the month of August, surging up by 1.2%, after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7% in July.

Economists had expected factory orders to increase by 0.9% compared to the 0.4% rise originally reported for the previous month.

The report showed orders for durable goods shot up by 1.8%, while orders for non-durable goods rose by 0.6%.