Gold Ends Below $1,300 On Global Cues

Chicago (Aug 18)  Gold futures ended lower for a second straight session on Monday, with investors seeking riskier assets while tracking rebounding global equity markets. The precious metal found little support with the dollar trending higher against some select currencies, after some upbeat homebuilder confidence data from the U.S.

Nonetheless, recent weak data from the eurozone and lingering geopolitical concerns continue to limit the precious metal's downside.

There appears to be little clarity in the geopolitical tensions prevailing in Ukraine and Iraq. While government forces in Ukraine continued their protracted fight against pro-Russian separatists, the separatists claim to have taken down a Ukrainian plane.

In Iraq, the U.S. air force continued to target areas surrounding the strategic Mosul Dam in an effort to dislodge Islamic State militants and help Kurdish forces retake the region.

In some positive economic indicator, homebuilder confidence in the U.S. unexpectedly improved for a third consecutive month in August, to its highest level in seven months, a report from the National Association of Home Builders showed Monday. This was the highest level for the index since January this year.

Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, shed $6.90 or 0.5 percent to close at $1,299.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

Gold for December delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,304.90 and a low of $1,296.50 an ounce.

On Friday, gold futures snapped a three-day winning streak to end lower, amid some mixed economic data and uncertainty about the timing of likely monetary tightening. Gold shed about 0.37 percent last week.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, remained unchanged at 795.60 tons on Monday from its previous close.

Source: RTTnews