Gold futures settled sharply higher Monday, along with broader gains in the commodity complex, as a surge in prices of crude oil offered some signs of a potential increase in inflation, bullish for precious metals’ prices. December gold finished up $12.40, or 1%, at $1,281.60 an ounce., marking the best single session gain since late Sept., according to FactSet data. U.S. crude prices jumped more than 2% on Monday, while the U.S. dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index , retreated. Higher oil prices can be seen as precursor to a rise in inflation and gold is often bought as a hedge against a pickup in prices. Weakness in the U.S. dollar can make assets priced in the currency, including metals, more attractive to buyers using weaker monetary units. The dollar index was down 0.2% at 94.77 on Monday.
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