Gold, a haven, gains with dollar flat

The Dow Jones industrial average spent most of the day clawing back from early losses, closing with a loss of 39.51 points or 0.36 percent, to 11,052.49. The Standard & Poor's index dropped 0.14 percent, losing 1.64 points to 1,187.76.

Stocks were mostly higher in Asia, but lower in Europe Monday. Investors are concerned a flight from bond markets could spread to Portugal and from there to Spain, a far larger economy than the European Union has attempted to rescue so far.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gold prices gained $3.80 to $1,368.10. Crude oil prices for January delivery added $1.99 to $85.75 per barrel.

The dollar was mixed Monday with the dollar index down 0.06 percent. The U.S. dollar rose against the Australian dollar and the South Korean won. It made gains against the British pound and the lost ground in trades with the Canadian dollar.

The euro fell to $1.3123 from Friday's $1.3248. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 84.26 yen from Friday's 84.10 yen.

The Australia dollar fell to $0.9625 from $0.9644. Against the Hong Kong dollar, the U.S. standard rose to 7.7658 HKD from 7.7642 HKD.

The dollar rose to 1,164 South Korean won from Tuesday's 1,155.94 won.

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