By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures drifted lower in electronic trading on Monday, extending losses from late last week, when Egypt’s president relinquished his hold on power.
Benchmark Gold (GCG11 1,360, -0.20, -0.02%) futures declined $2.10 to $1,358.30 an ounce in electronic trading in Asian hours on Monday.
The contract lost a similar amount in New York trading on Friday, with news of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation as Egypt’s president diminishing the precious metal’s safe-haven appeal for investors, at least for now.
“For now, we think having the military take over was the best solution in ending the deadlock between the protestors and Mubarak. As such, we are likely to see some relief rallies as the result of this latest news,” said Win Thin, strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in a recent note.
Still, Thin cautioned that it isn’t likely to be all smooth sailing for investors following the news.
“There are still more questions than answers with regards to Egypt’s ultimate fate, and so investors must be prepared for ongoing volatility as the situation in Egypt remains far from clear,” he said.
