Gold declines as Mubarak resigns
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Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange further declined on Friday, as the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak took away gold's appeal as a safe-haven investment.
The most active gold contract for February delivery shed 2.1 dollars per ounce, or 0.15 percent, to settle at 1,360.4 dollars.
Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman on Friday announced on Egyptian state television that President Mubarak had resigned and handed over power to the military.
Market traders said that the resolution of the conflict in Egypt diminished gold's safe-haven appeal: "While the protesters are going home, the reason to buy gold as a safe-haven came off."
Meanwhile, a stronger dollar also added the negative tone in Friday's gold market. The dollar index, which tracked the U.S. dollar's value against a basket of six currencies, most recently traded at 78.49, up from 78.221 late on Thursday.
Silver for March delivery also shed 18.2 cents, or six percent, to 30.094 dollars per ounce. April's platinum lost 28.6 dollars, or 1.54 percent, to 1,830.8 dollars per ounce.
