By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures edged lower Monday, pacing losses in other commodities after a Dubai official was quoted saying that the government isn't guaranteeing the debt of Dubai World, its sprawling conglomerate. But gold futures are on track to mark one of the best months in 10 years. Gold has only seen three losing sessions this month, on track to rise 12%, the biggest monthly gain since November 2008. Futures soared 14% in that month, the biggest gain since 1999. Gold futures have soared 33% this year, and have made gains in 17 out of the past 20 weeks. In recent trading, December gold futures slid $6, or 0.5%, to $1,168.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It climbed to a record high near $1,188 an ounce last week. Investors also beefed up their buying in gold exchange-traded funds. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 115.35, +0.29, +0.25%) , the biggest gold ETF, have risen 24 metric tons this month to stand at 1,127.86 metric tons as of Friday, the highest level since June. "Investor sentiment still remains positive towards gold," said Suki Cooper, an analyst at Barclays Capital, as data show holdings in gold ETFs "set a fresh record high" on Friday. Holdings in all gold ETFs -- including SPDR Gold, iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU 115.45, +0.27, +0.23%) , and some Australian and U.K-listed ETFs -- hit 1,766.40 metric tons, Cooper said in a research note. Futures ended lower on Friday as Dubai's debt woes fueled a sell-off in commodities and stocks. In the latest update in Dubai's debt crisis, Dubai's government said Monday it doesn't guarantee the debt of Dubai World, according to remarks by an official cited in the media. Abdulrahman al-Saleh, director general of Dubai's department of finance, said creditors need to take part of the responsibility and that Dubai World is not part of the government, according to media reports. The crisis is creating opportunities for China, a country with only about 2% of its massive reserves in gold. A senior Chinese official with the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said on Monday that the Dubai World crisis is an opportunity for China to invest in gold and oil, the country's Economic Information Daily reported. Ji Xiaonan, chairman of the supervisory board for large firms under SASAC, was cited as saying the country can "use part of its foreign reserves to buy gold and oil reserves." In other metals, silver also declined, with the December contract down 8.2 cents, or 0.5%, to $18.22 an ounce. The contract has risen 12% this month. December palladium lost $5.50, or 1.5%, to $360.20 an ounce, and January platinum slide $1.10, or 0.1% to $1,446 an ounce. Bucking the trend, December copper rose 1.3 cents, or 0.4%, to $3.1065 a pound.

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