Gold rises, oil slides on EU crisis

Gold futures rose for the fifth straight session as negotiations for a Greek bailout stalled, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as an investment haven.

Gold futures for August delivery rose $5.60, or 0.4%, to $1,544.70 an ounce at 10.21 am on the Comex in New York. The price climbed 0.6% last week. The precious metal touched a record $1,577.40 on May 2 as escalating sovereign-debt woes and record-low US borrowing costs increased the appeal of bullion as an alternative to currencies. Gold denominated in euros reached an all-time high on May 25.

Oil slid and the euro wavered on Monday as risk aversion rose after European finance ministers postponed doling out emergency loans to Greece until the debt-strapped country approves new austerity measures. US light sweet crude oil fell 40 cents, or 0.43%, to $92.61 a barrel. Brent crude fell by $1.23 a barrel to $111.98 a barrel. Commodity markets remained fixed on the European debt crisis, led by whether Greece will win more aid.

The US dollar was up slightly against a basket of major currencies, with the US Dollar Index up 0.02%, while the euro was unchanged at $1.4308. AGENCIES