December, spot gold drop in New York trade

Precious metals prices were lower Thursday, with gold dropping on the possibility that the dollar could end its decline and reduce demand for gold.

December gold was $2.80 lower to $717.90 per troy ounce in New York, while spot gold fell $2.51 to $709.09 per troy ounce at just past 2 p.m. there.

However, a London-based analyst said it believes that gold could hit $740 this year and perhaps go as high as $850 in 2008 if demand in preference to stocks and bonds is driven up by chaos in the credit market.

Elsewhere, December silver dropped 11 cents to $12.68 per troy ounce after a separate analyst report saying that it could drop to as low as $9 by the end of next year.

Demand for silver is forecast to decline as the motion picture industry switches from traditional to digital film.

October platinum, meanwhile, fell $4.80 to $1,299.90 per troy ounce.