Gold futures prices tumbled to 4{-month lows Friday on New York's Commodity Exchange amid heavy European selling as the dollar resumed its advance against most other major currencies. On other commodity markets, silver also retreated; grains and soybeans fell; energy future advanced; and livestock and meat futures were mixed. Gold futures settled $5.30 to $5.60 lower with the contract for delivery in April at $389.40 a troy ounce, the lowest settlement for a near-month gold contract since Nov. 10. Silver futures ended 4.1 cents to 4.7 cents lower in New York with March at $5.043 a troy ounce. Analysts said buying interest in gold has faded as prices have skidded from near $430 an ounce over the past six weeks. April gold fell by $11.50 in this week alone. Gold is traded in dollars on the world market, so a stronger dollar makes the metal more expensive in terms of other currencies, discouraging foreign buying. But analysts said gold's decline in the face of global political and economic uncertainty suggests other factors are also at play. Gold traditionally has been viewed as a safe haven for investors during times of inflation and political crises such as the current showdown between the Soviet Union and the breakaway Lithuanian republic. But instead of buying gold, international investors have shunned the metal, preferring to buy U.S. dollars. ``The dollar is becoming the safe haven,'' said John Jonat, a precious-metals trader with Deak International Inc. William O'Neill, research director with Elders Futures Inc., said the gold market ignored a bevy of traditionally bullish developments during the week, including rising U.S. retail prices, predictions for high inflation in Britain, a sharp drop Thursday in the stock market and the increasingly tense Lithuanian situation. At the same time, the dollar has surged in value. ``You can see that the focus here is on the dollar more than anything else,'' O'Neill said. Soybean futures prices fell substantially on the Chicago Board of Trade on profit-taking prompted in part by beliefs that Brazilian soy exports may resume soon. Grain futures prices fell modestly. Exports of Brazilian soybean meal and oil have been on hold this week while the government implements economic reforms aimed at halting runaway inflation in the South American nation. Wheat futures settled 1 cent to 4{ cents lower with May at $3.56} a bushel; corn futures were \ cent to 1{ cents lower with May at $2.58{ a bushel; oats were 1\ cents to 2 cents lower with May at $1.47} a bushel; and soybeans were 5 cents to 7 cents lower with May at $5.98 a bushel. Petroleum futures advanced in technically inspired trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled 7 cents to 39 cents higher with May at $20.39 a barrel; heating oil was .45 cent to .70 cent higher with April at 55.46 cents a gallon; unleaded gasoline was .15 cent to 1.56 cents higher with April at 57.66 cents a gallon. Expectations for stronger cash markets next week prompted buying of livestock futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Pork bellies ended mixed ahead of the Agriculture Department's monthly cold-storage report, which showed a lower-than-expected amount of pork bellies in commercial freezers as of Feb. 28. Belly prices are expected to rise in reaction to the report when trading resumes Monday. Live cattle futures settled .20 cent lower to .38 cent higher with April at 77.20 cents a pound; feeder cattle were .08 cent lower to .22 cent higher with March at 82.65 cents a pound; live hogs were .05 cent to .73 cent higher with April at 53.75 cents a pound; frozen pork bellies were .58 cent lower to .50 cent higher with March at 50.87 cents a pound.
