The combination of a strong dollar, weak crude oil and speculative selling sent gold futures to their lowest level in 3 1/2 months Wednesday.

December gold fell $14.80 to settle at $566.70 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

December silver settled down 25 cents at $10.795 an ounce. December silver actually started falling before gold, yet managed to hold above last month's $10.55 low.

The futures had a softer tone early in the day, due to long liquidation, even when crude oil was trying to avoid more losses. December gold fell just below $580, but managed to hold for around three-quarters of an hour above the Sept. 15 low of $576.60.

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But then crude resumed its retreat, and sell stops were hit in gold as it broke that support level, traders said. Gold then remained under pressure for the rest of the day, even though November crude oil eventually turned positive.

"The energy sell-off is still part of the game," said Scott Meyers, senior trading analyst with Pioneer Futures. "Also, (foreign) currencies are weak and the dollar is strong. Funds just seem to be bailing.

"It's just in a freefall. People are looking for some kind of bottom, but nobody knows where. It could take a day with capitulation; today might be the day. I don't think the bull market is completely broken, although the charts do suggest there has been damage done."

Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management, said funds were exiting from a number of metals.

October platinum settled at $1,082.40 an ounce, down $47.50. December palladium settled at $296.65 an ounce, down $9.80.

December copper settled down 7.70 cents at $3.2055 per pound.