August 2, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22,1423

LONDON, Aug 1: Gold prices fell below 300 dollars here on Thursday for the first time in over three months, pressured by a firmer dollar and the recent recovery in world stock markets.

An ounce of gold fell to a low of 298.95 dollars per ounce before recovering slightly to 302.5 dollars.

That still left it down 2.60 dollars from Wednesday evening.

Having touched a 32-month high of 330 dollars at the beginning of June, gold prices have declined steadily over the past eight weeks as investors looked to cash in on the rally which had seen gold prices soar by around 30 per cent in little over a year.

“Despite all the news out of the United States the dollar has strengthened. At the same time US stocks look as if they have begun to stabilize,” said SG Securities analyst Stephen Briggs.

Analysts attributed this year’s upswing to several factors, notably concerns about the economic and security outlook, a weaker dollar and a reduction in forward-selling by producers.

But Briggs said that with fundamentals looking poor, the market would need a fresh injection of positive news if this year’s rally in prices was to avoid running out of steam.

Traditionally, gold is seen as a safe-haven asset in times of uncertainty, but the precious metal has failed to benefit significantly from the recent stock market rout and ongoing geopolitical instability.—AFP