Investing.com - Gold futures came under pressure during U.S. morning trade on Tuesday, falling to the lowest levels of the session after talks aimed at forming a coalition government in Greece failed, sending the country to fresh elections.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,553.25 a troy ounce during early U.S. trade, slumping 0.5%.
It earlier fell by as much as 0.9% to trade at USD1,547.75 a troy ounce, the lowest since December 30, 2011.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,523.95 a troy ounce, the low from December 29 and resistance at USD1,639.05, the high from May 8.
Gold futures fell to the lowest levels of the day after Panos Kammenos, leader of a conservative party that opposes Greece's international bailout deal, said cross party talks aimed at forming a coalition government had ended without a deal.
A caretaker government will be appointed Wednesday, with new elections likely in early June, fuelling fears over a potential Greek default and eventual exit from the euro zone.
The heightened sense of risk aversion prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as stocks and industrial commodities, and flock to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar.
The euro fell to a fresh four-month low against the U.S. dollar, while the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.3% to trade at 81.03, the highest since March 15.
Tame inflation data out of the U.S. also weighed, after a report showed that core consumer prices rose 0.2% in April, in line with expectations, while consumer prices, including food and energy costs, were flat last month for the first time since December.
A separate report showed that retail sales inched up 0.1% in April, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% gain and growing at the weakest pace in four months.
But the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index jumped to 17.1 in May from 6.6 in April. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 8.5 in May.
Gold investors will be closely watching U.S. data in the second quarter for clues as to the likelihood of a fresh round of monetary easing by the Fed, which could potentially hurt the dollar and support gold.
Prices were higher earlier in the day as the euro found support after better-than-expected German economic growth data.
Germany’s gross domestic product grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in the three months to March, above expectations for a growth of 0.1%. German GDP contracted by an unrevised 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The broader euro-zone GDP measure, meanwhile, held steady on a quarterly and yearly basis, the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, said.
According to market participants, gold prices could come under further selling pressure in the near-future, amid an uncertain technical picture.
Gold’s losses in recent sessions have been exacerbated after prices broke below key support levels, triggering fresh sell orders amid bearish chart signals.
Technical traders expect the next level of support for gold to be at USD1,544 and then USD1,523 after breaking below USD1,600 last week.
Some market participants noted that heavy losses in stocks and other commodities markets accelerated gold’s sell-off, as traders were forced to sell their gold holdings to raise cash to cover losses elsewhere.
Money managers in gold futures and options cut their net long positions by 20% to the lowest level since December 2008, as investors aggressively unwound their bullish bets in the precious metal after a sharp price pullback.
In October 2008, gold prices tumbled 18% as turmoil in global financial markets led to losses in global equity and commodity markets. The precious metal rallied 23% in the next two months.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery dropped 1% to trade at USD28.07 a troy ounce, the lowest since January 3, while copper for July delivery retreated 0.9% to trade at USD3.522 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,553.25 a troy ounce during early U.S. trade, slumping 0.5%.
It earlier fell by as much as 0.9% to trade at USD1,547.75 a troy ounce, the lowest since December 30, 2011.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,523.95 a troy ounce, the low from December 29 and resistance at USD1,639.05, the high from May 8.
Gold futures fell to the lowest levels of the day after Panos Kammenos, leader of a conservative party that opposes Greece's international bailout deal, said cross party talks aimed at forming a coalition government had ended without a deal.
A caretaker government will be appointed Wednesday, with new elections likely in early June, fuelling fears over a potential Greek default and eventual exit from the euro zone.
The heightened sense of risk aversion prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as stocks and industrial commodities, and flock to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar.
The euro fell to a fresh four-month low against the U.S. dollar, while the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.3% to trade at 81.03, the highest since March 15.
Tame inflation data out of the U.S. also weighed, after a report showed that core consumer prices rose 0.2% in April, in line with expectations, while consumer prices, including food and energy costs, were flat last month for the first time since December.
A separate report showed that retail sales inched up 0.1% in April, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% gain and growing at the weakest pace in four months.
But the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that its general business conditions index jumped to 17.1 in May from 6.6 in April. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 8.5 in May.
Gold investors will be closely watching U.S. data in the second quarter for clues as to the likelihood of a fresh round of monetary easing by the Fed, which could potentially hurt the dollar and support gold.
Prices were higher earlier in the day as the euro found support after better-than-expected German economic growth data.
Germany’s gross domestic product grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in the three months to March, above expectations for a growth of 0.1%. German GDP contracted by an unrevised 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The broader euro-zone GDP measure, meanwhile, held steady on a quarterly and yearly basis, the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, said.
According to market participants, gold prices could come under further selling pressure in the near-future, amid an uncertain technical picture.
Gold’s losses in recent sessions have been exacerbated after prices broke below key support levels, triggering fresh sell orders amid bearish chart signals.
Technical traders expect the next level of support for gold to be at USD1,544 and then USD1,523 after breaking below USD1,600 last week.
Some market participants noted that heavy losses in stocks and other commodities markets accelerated gold’s sell-off, as traders were forced to sell their gold holdings to raise cash to cover losses elsewhere.
Money managers in gold futures and options cut their net long positions by 20% to the lowest level since December 2008, as investors aggressively unwound their bullish bets in the precious metal after a sharp price pullback.
In October 2008, gold prices tumbled 18% as turmoil in global financial markets led to losses in global equity and commodity markets. The precious metal rallied 23% in the next two months.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery dropped 1% to trade at USD28.07 a troy ounce, the lowest since January 3, while copper for July delivery retreated 0.9% to trade at USD3.522 a pound.