Gold held below $900 an ounce on Tuesday, giving up some of the previous sessions’ gains, as easing risk aversion dampened interest in the precious metal. Spot gold was quoted at $898.65/900.25 an ounce at 1403 GMT, against $902.65 in New York late on Monday. Earlier it slipped to a low of $891.60 an ounce.

U.S. data sparks flight to dollar…  Oil slips, traders fret over demand outlook…  Traders await ECB rate decision on Thursday.

Dollar firms a touch versus the euro, pressuring gold… Key U.S. jobs data shows payrolls down 524,000 in Dec…  Investec cuts 2009 platinum forecast by 28 percent.

Dollar touches fresh 3-week high versus the euro…  ETF Securities reports 2 pct rise in gold ETF holdings… Platinum, palladium rise to multi-week highs…

Dollar rises to 3-week high vs euro on stimulus hopes… Oil prices fail to hold gains above $48 a barrel…  Abu Dhabi Dec gold sales fall 40 pct month on month.

Gold was firmer on Monday, tracking a climb in crude oil prices on the back of burgeoning tensions in the Middle East, although it retreated from earlier highs as oil gave up some of its gains.

Dollar tanks as Fed cuts interest rates to 0-0.25 pct… Oil traders eye OPEC production decision * SPDR Gold Trust bullion holdings rise again…

Rising dollar, falling oil prices weigh on gold… Platinum group metals weighed by poor economic data

Never has there been a time where the stock market has influenced the commodities markets so much.

Last time I checked, the price of soybeans, cocoa or orange juice had absolutely no relationship to whether Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Disney (NYSE: DIS), or Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) declined in price.

But these days, we’ve got a serious blurring of the lines between global marketplaces. In addition, the prevalence and ease of electronic trading, coupled with well-capitalized hedge funds, means we’re seeing all kinds of different markets having an affect on one another.

Not so long ago, it used to be that money typically flowed from one asset class to another – for example, from stocks to commodities. But that isn’t happening now as most players have either bailed…

Like many people, I have been looking at the price disparity between the market prices of gold and silver bullion (averaging about $1,000 an ounce for gold and $16.50 an ounce for silver) versus the prices of gold and silver futures (about $730 and $8.90 respectively).