By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures fell slightly Tuesday, pulling back after data showed the U.S. economy grew in the third quarter at a slower pace than anticipated and dampened commodities traders' sentiment.
The Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product rose 2.2% from July through September, comparing with a 2.8% annualized growth rate that the department had reported previously. Commodities were mostly lower Tuesday.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery lost 0.4% to $1,090.70 an ounce. It dropped to $1,086 earlier, the lowest seen since Nov. 3.
The February contract was the most actively traded, down 0.5% to stand at $1,090.40 an ounce.
"Gold reacted to the dollar and the GDP data," said George Gero, a precious-metals trader for RBC Capital Markets. "It's also off on year-end exits."
In currency trading, the dollar trended lower against the euro after the GDP data. The dollar index (DXY 78.07, +0.03, +0.04%) was slightly lower at 78.013.
Gold futures climbed to a record high above $1,226 an ounce on Dec. 3, following a robust winning streak in November. But futures have since declined more than 10%.
The third-quarter GDP growth rate was slower than economists had expected, but the 2.2% pace still was the fastest in two years. Before the quarter, the U.S. economy had shrunk for four straight quarters -- the first time it had done so since the Great Depression. See story on GDP.
The GDP data indicated that the U.S. is likely to see stronger economic growth in the fourth quarter, said Brian Kelly, chief executive of Kanundrum Research, a commodities and macroeconomic research firm.
"A stronger GDP could also mean inflationary pressures," he said, which could potentially lift gold prices.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 106.28, -0.67, -0.63%) , the biggest gold exchange-traded fund, rose to 1,132.71 metric tons as of Monday, up 6.1 metric tons from the previous trading session.
In other metals, January platinum sank 0.6% to $1,414.40 an ounce and March palladium dropped 1% to $361.65 an ounce, while March silver was almost flat at $17.03 an ounce.
March copper also lost ground, down 0.8% to $3.131 a pound.
