Gold Bucks Up

Investors thinking that gold would follow oil lower got a surprise Monday as the bulls took over and sent bullion prices higher.

While nearby crude futures were sinking $2.17 at $58.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold prices spurted upward, breaking what some have seen as a pattern of prices for the two commodities tending to move in step. Contracts for December delivery of gold closed up $6.40 at $607.40 an ounce also on the Nymex, and the bullion exchange-traded funds followed suit, with iShares Comex Gold Trust and streetTracks Gold Shares both gaining about 1% recently.

Friday's close above the psychologically important $600-an-ounce level had helped boost sentiment when the Far Eastern markets opened overnight, and an intraday rally seemed to feed on itself. ...