New quarter, same direction for gold prices

Gold on Wednesday started the fourth quarter where it ended to the third, and that’s in the dumps. The selling was even more pronounced in platinum, which pushed down to levels sot seen in five years. At last check, gold for December GCZ4, -0.17% was down $4.80, or 0.4%, to $1,206.80 an ounce. December silver SIZ4,-0.25% gave up 11 cents, or 0.7%, to $16.95 an ounce. On Tuesday, gold finished September with a 5.9% drop for the month, hit hard by a steady climb in the US dollar. That’s the worst monthly tally since a grim June saw a 12% retreat in prices, according to marketwatch.com