Investing.com – Gold futures were down for the first time in seven days on Tuesday, easing off a three-week high as the U.S. dollar rallied amid concerns that the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis would spread to the region’s core economies.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,546.15 a troy ounce during late Asian trade, edging 0.5% lower.
It earlier fell as much as 0.55% to trade at a daily low of USD1,545.85 a troy ounce.
Gold priced in U.S. dollars were less than 1.75% away from an all-time high of USD1,577.15 an ounce it hit on May 2, while Euro-denominated gold surged to a record high of EUR1,116.99.
Earlier in the day, International Monetary Fund Chairwoman Christine Lagarde said that the institution was not ready to discuss terms of a second bailout package for Greece.
Meanwhile, the cost of insuring Italian government debt against default rose to a euro lifetime high on Monday, while a brief suspension in trading of Italian bank shares exacerbated fears that the debt crisis could spill over to the Italian banking sector.
Italy is the euro zone's third largest economy and has the highest sovereign debt ratio relative to its economy in the single currency bloc after Greece.
The greenback surged to a four-month high against the euro, while the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.85% to trade at 77.02, the highest since March 16.
Although gold’s appeal as a safe-haven is boosted during times of economic uncertainty, the euro zone’s debt crisis has done little to bolster appetite for the precious metal.
A weakening euro and stronger dollar have weighed on gold instead.
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery dropped 1.6% to trade at USD35.25 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 1.05% to trade at USD4.319 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,546.15 a troy ounce during late Asian trade, edging 0.5% lower.
It earlier fell as much as 0.55% to trade at a daily low of USD1,545.85 a troy ounce.
Gold priced in U.S. dollars were less than 1.75% away from an all-time high of USD1,577.15 an ounce it hit on May 2, while Euro-denominated gold surged to a record high of EUR1,116.99.
Earlier in the day, International Monetary Fund Chairwoman Christine Lagarde said that the institution was not ready to discuss terms of a second bailout package for Greece.
Meanwhile, the cost of insuring Italian government debt against default rose to a euro lifetime high on Monday, while a brief suspension in trading of Italian bank shares exacerbated fears that the debt crisis could spill over to the Italian banking sector.
Italy is the euro zone's third largest economy and has the highest sovereign debt ratio relative to its economy in the single currency bloc after Greece.
The greenback surged to a four-month high against the euro, while the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.85% to trade at 77.02, the highest since March 16.
Although gold’s appeal as a safe-haven is boosted during times of economic uncertainty, the euro zone’s debt crisis has done little to bolster appetite for the precious metal.
A weakening euro and stronger dollar have weighed on gold instead.
Elsewhere, silver for September delivery dropped 1.6% to trade at USD35.25 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 1.05% to trade at USD4.319 a pound.