07/08/07: Gold down as investors await dollar news

Gold was down slightly today (August 7th), with analysts eager to see how the dollar will fare over the next few days, Reuters reports.

The price of bullion often travels in the opposite direction to that of the dollar against foreign currencies, and investors are waiting to see where the greenback moves.

Spot gold was at $669.30 an ounce this morning, down from $671.05 late last night in New York.

"We would expect gold to recover towards $672-$675 an ounce in the short-term, but we don't exclude a short travel to $668 before we move back higher," said MKS Finance analyst Frederic Panizzutti.

He also pointed to low trading volumes over the holiday period.

"But overall it's a pretty quiet market due to holidays and the dollar is going to be the key factor in the coming days."

In India, a late start of Hindu festivals has impacted on demand for the yellow metal, with traders hoping that things will pick up in September.

"Demand is very less," Riddisiddhi Bullions director Prithviraj Kothari told Yahoo.