By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures retreated on Tuesday, with the precious metal unable to build on a small advance made in the previous session.
Gold (GCG11 1,332, -12.70, -0.95%) futures traded down $9.70 an ounce to $1,334.80 in electronic trading on Tuesday.
That more than gave back a $3.50 advance made Monday when inflation fears were stoked by European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet.
But gold’s brief rally faded as stocks in Hong Kong, Japan and India gained, and as Australian shares advanced after a weaker-than-expected CPI print. Read story on Australian CPI data.
Gold futures struggled last week, hitting a low not seen since Nov. 17 on Friday, with investors appearing willing to take on more risk amid broadly strong corporate results from the U.S. and an improvement in U.S. economic data.
“The improved economic outlook over the past weeks has dimmed gold’s appeal as safe-haven investment, but concerns about inflation may continue to support,” said analysts at Richcomm Global.
Other metals were also losing ground on Tuesday. Copper futures (HGH11 430.40, -4.45, -1.02%) declined 4 cents to $4.31 per pound, while silver futures (SIH11 2,678, -54.10, -1.98%) lost 53 cents to trade at $26.79 an ounce and platinum futures (PLJ11 1,801, -18.50, -1.02%) dropped $14.70 to $1,804.90 an ounce.
