Gold rallies amid rising safe-haven demand

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose Wednesday on lukewarm U.S. economic data.

The most active gold contract for December delivery rose 10.5 dollars, or 0.85 percent, to settle at 1,244.8 dollars per ounce.

The New York Fed reported Wednesday that the Empire State manufacturing retreated sharply to 6.2 in October after hitting a near five-year high of 27.5 in the prior month. Economists had expected a 21.0 reading; the Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales fell 0.3 percent in September for the first time in eight months; and the Labor Department stated that the producer price index dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent, the first decline in more than a year.

As a result of the somewhat disappointing economic data, U.S. stocks plunged, and U.S. dollar fell to a three-week low against the euro, which supported gold.

Gold also took some support from physical demand. With the upcoming wedding and festival season, gold imports in India, the world's second-largest gold consumer, nearly doubled in September from August to 3.75 billion dollars.

Silver for December delivery gained 6.1 cents, or 0.35 percent, to close at 17.464 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery dropped 11.4 dollars, or 0.9 percent, to close at 1,260.9 dollars per ounce.