By Barani Krishnan
Investing.com - Maybe the U.S. economy isn't doing so bad after all and perhaps the Fed might even rethink its dovish stance on rates.
Both conjectures, coming on the back of Monday's better-than-expected U.S. retail sales data for February, sunk gold's chances of having another shot at topping $1,300 an ounce and extending Friday's highs.
Some analysts pointed out that safe-haven support didn't emerge for gold either after President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal 2020. The proposal is likely to set up another clash between the president and Democrats in Congress over his request for $8.6 billion to build additional barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Gold futures for April delivery settled down $8.20, or 0.6%, at $1,291.10 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Spot gold, reflective of trades in physical bullion, also hit a one-week peak in intraday trade, fell by $5.76, or 0.4%, to $1,292.62 by 3:00 PM ET (19:00 GMT).
Bullion, as well as gold futures, briefly crossed the magical $1,300 mark on Friday after the Labor Department reported the addition of just 20,000 jobs for February versus market expectations for 181,000 new positions.
But a 0.2% rise in U.S. retail sales in January, compared with forecasts for flatline growth, brought renewed confidence in the economy and boosted stocks. The major averages had fallen every day last week.
Gold and U.S. equities typically move in opposite directions, explaining Monday's slide in the shiny metal, although the dollar, another contrarian trade, dipped as well.
Gold shot above $1,300 on Jan. 20 and hit 10-month highs of nearly $1,350 exactly a month later, before sliding off that perch on March 1. The rally in the first two months came after the Fed said it will be patient with rate hikes due to a soft outlook for the economy. But if GDP growth does surprise, then risk appetite is likely to ramp up and the Fed might reconsider its decision to keep rates steady.
"For the most part, investors are still most interested in the equity markets and not finding a need for any safe-haven products at this time," Walter Pehowich, executive vice-president at Dillon Gage Metals in Addison, Texas, said in his daily note on gold.
Palladium prices rose, reaffirming its standing as the world's costliest metal.
The spot price of palladium rose by $21.10, or 1.4%, to 1,535.20 per ounce by 3:00 PM ET.
Trades in other Comex metals as of 3:00 PM ET (19:00 GMT):
Palladium futures up $33.05, or 2.3%, at $1,492.05 per ounce.
Platinum futures up $1.40, or 0.4%, at $819 per ounce.
Silver futures down 4 cents, or 0.2%, at $15.31 per ounce.
Copper futures up 1 cent, or 0.4%, to $2.91 per pound.