Gold Falls Back as Investors Take Profits

London (July 14)  Gold prices fell back in European trading hours, as investors took profits following a spate of strength and analysts cautioned against reading too much into recent gains.

Spot gold has had a decent six weeks, propped up in part by the uncertainties caused by global geopolitical tensions. The price has rallied from below $1,250 a troy ounce at the start of June to top out Thursday at $1,345.05 an ounce.

However as analysts cautioned prices were looking somewhat "toppy," investors started to cash in on the yellow metal's gains.

Monday, spot gold was trading at $1,321.32 an ounce, a fall of 1.3% from Friday's settlement price. Silver prices also fell 1.3%, to $21.135 an ounce.

"We suggest selling any gold price rallies from these levels, especially given that we expect the legs of support to give and to expose gold on the downside," said Barclays in a note to clients.

Clive Lambert, a technical analyst at FuturesTechs said that $1,315 an ounce represented support for gold prices.

"So far on this morning's stop run this has held, so this could be a prime buying opportunity," he said. "However if $1,315 and $1,305 give way we may have to rethink our recent bull skew."

Elsewhere, spot platinum fell 0.6% to $1,498.50 an ounce, while palladium slipped 0.2% to $870.50 an ounce.

Source: WSJ