<div>Gold fell more than 1 per cent on 18 November as lackluster physical buying prompted traders to cash in three days' gains, while early gains in equities dented bullion's safe-haven appeal.<br /><br />Gains from the stock market diverted investment interest from gold, as the Dow and S&P 500 rose to record highs earlier in the session before equities investors took profits.<br /><br />Bullion came under pressure from global economic optimism on signs of ambitious economic reform in China and the prospect of extended stimulus from the US Federal Reserve.<br /><br />Also weighing down on investor sentiment was continued decline in the holdings of SPDR Gold Shares, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund. <br /><br />"Until such time as financial investors - be they short- or longer-term-oriented - return to the market, gold and silver will find it hard to make any significant gains," said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank.<br /><br />Spot gold was down 1.3 per cent to $1,272.54 an ounce by 3:39 p.m. EST (2039 GMT). The metal had gained almost 2 per cent in the last three days.<br /><br />US gold futures for December delivery settled down $15.10 an ounce to $1,272.30, with trading volume about 40 per cent below its 250-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed.<br /><br /><strong>Gold-Buying Wilts</strong><br />Gold dominated a stampede out of commodities in the week to 12 November as hedge funds and other speculative investors sold off more than $4 billion in US futures and options contracts, data showed on Friday.<br /><br />Gold demand from major consumers in Asia remained muted on 18 November. Chinese premiums have fallen to about $5.50 an ounce from about $7.50 on Friday.<br /><br />Prices are also suffering from a dearth of demand from India, which is set to be overtaken by China as the world's No. 1 gold buyer this year after Indian authorities increased import duties for the metal.<br /><br />Among other precious metals, silver was down 1.9 per cent at $20.37 an ounce, while platinum slipped 2.1 per cent to $1,406.99 an ounce and palladium fell 2.1 per cent to $714.83 an ounce.<br /><br />3:39 PM EST LAST/ NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT<br /><br />SETTLE CHNG CHNG VOL<br /><br />US Gold DEC 1272.30 -15.10 -1.2 1269.20 1289.20 101,686<br /><br />US Silver DEC 20.357 -0.370 -1.8 20.290 20.800 46,532<br /><br />US Plat JAN 1411.00 -27.90 -1.9 1410.60 1442.00 9,074<br /><br />US Pall DEC 716.75 -15.90 -2.2 716.00 733.40 6,805<br /><br />Gold 1272.54 -17.12 -1.3 1270.73 1290.00<br /><br />Silver 20.370 -0.390 -1.9 20.340 20.800<br /><br />Platinum 1406.99 -30.50 -2.1 1412.50 1439.00<br /><br />Palladium 714.83 -15.47 -2.1 719.09 729.75<br /><br />TOTAL MARKET VOLUME 30-D ATM VOLATILITY<br /><br />CURRENT 250D AVG CURRENT CHG<br /><br />US Gold 113,447 189,283 23.18 -1.01<br /><br />US Silver 67,683 58,610 35.14 1.70<br /><br />US Platinum 9,326 12,978 20.36 0.00<br /><br />US Palladium 9,158 5,806<br /><br />(Reuters)</div>
