Investing.com - Gold futures edged lower during European morning trade on Monday, pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar, but losses were limited as some safe haven buying re-emerged in the wake of weekend elections in France and Greece.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,638.55 a troy ounce during early European trade, shedding 0.4%.
It earlier fell by as much as 0.55% to trade at a session low of USD1,634.85 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find short-term support at USD1,625.55 a troy ounce, the low from April 25 and resistance at USD1,672.15, the high from May 1.
Market sentiment was rattled after Socialist challenger Francois Hollande defeated French President Nicolas Sarkozy and pro-bailout Greek political parties took a drubbing according to exit polls in from Sunday's parliamentary elections.
The weekend election results triggered fresh uncertainty over Europe's ability to tackle its debt crisis.
Hollande has recently called for a re-negotiation of Europe’s fiscal compact and its tough budget rules, while no political party won enough votes to form a government in Greece, prompting speculation the debt-strapped country could reject its newly signed aid package.
Adding to the gloomy trade environment was a much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report on Friday, which added to uncertainty over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, the smallest increase in six months and far short of expectations for a 170,000 increase, after adding an upwardly revised 154,000 jobs in March.
The unemployment rate ticked lower to 8.1%, the lowest since January 2009. However, the data showed that the decline stemmed entirely from people dropping out of the labor force.
The disappointing data prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as stocks and industrial commodities, and flock to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.43% to trade at 79.94, the highest since April 16.
Gold prices often move inversely to the U.S. dollar, as gold becomes more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery retreated 0.9% to trade at USD30.15 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery dropped 0.9% to trade at USD3.688 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,638.55 a troy ounce during early European trade, shedding 0.4%.
It earlier fell by as much as 0.55% to trade at a session low of USD1,634.85 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find short-term support at USD1,625.55 a troy ounce, the low from April 25 and resistance at USD1,672.15, the high from May 1.
Market sentiment was rattled after Socialist challenger Francois Hollande defeated French President Nicolas Sarkozy and pro-bailout Greek political parties took a drubbing according to exit polls in from Sunday's parliamentary elections.
The weekend election results triggered fresh uncertainty over Europe's ability to tackle its debt crisis.
Hollande has recently called for a re-negotiation of Europe’s fiscal compact and its tough budget rules, while no political party won enough votes to form a government in Greece, prompting speculation the debt-strapped country could reject its newly signed aid package.
Adding to the gloomy trade environment was a much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report on Friday, which added to uncertainty over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.
The Department of Labor said the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, the smallest increase in six months and far short of expectations for a 170,000 increase, after adding an upwardly revised 154,000 jobs in March.
The unemployment rate ticked lower to 8.1%, the lowest since January 2009. However, the data showed that the decline stemmed entirely from people dropping out of the labor force.
The disappointing data prompted investors to shun riskier assets, such as stocks and industrial commodities, and flock to the relative safety of the U.S. dollar.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.43% to trade at 79.94, the highest since April 16.
Gold prices often move inversely to the U.S. dollar, as gold becomes more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery retreated 0.9% to trade at USD30.15 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery dropped 0.9% to trade at USD3.688 a pound.