Gold falls as stocks gain after French election result
Gold fell nearly 1 per cent on Monday to its weakest in two weeks after centrist Macron led the first round of voting in the French presidential election, boosting stocks and triggering a sell-off of safe-haven bullion.
Spot gold was down 0.9 per cent to $1,273.15 per ounce by 0057 GMT. Bullion prices touched a low of $1,265.90 earlier in the session, the lowest since April 11.
US gold futures were down 1.1 per cent at $1,274.70 an ounce.
Centrist Emmanuel Macron took a big step towards the French presidency on Sunday by winning the first round of voting and qualifying for a May 7 runoff alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
The outcome lessens the risk of an anti-establishment shock on the scale of Britain's vote to quit the European Union, with Macron widely tipped to win the final vote and keep France in the union.
The euro scaled five-month highs against the dollar in early Asian trading on relief at the result, while US stock index futures rose sharply on Sunday.
North Korea said on Sunday it was ready to sink a US aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military might, in the latest sign of rising tension as US President Donald Trump prepared to call the leaders of China and Japan.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.52 per cent to 858.69 tonnes on Friday.
Barrick Gold Corp and its new Chinese partner presented a $500 million plan on Friday to make safety and environmental improvements to the Veladero gold mine in Argentina after a third cyanide spill in 18 months, a company executive said.
Hedge funds and other money managers increased their net long position in COMEX gold for the fifth straight week to April 18, lifting it to a five-month high, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0800 Germany Ifo business climate April
1230 US National activity index March
1430 US Dallas Fed manufacturing index April
Spot gold was down 0.9 per cent to $1,273.15 per ounce by 0057 GMT. Bullion prices touched a low of $1,265.90 earlier in the session, the lowest since April 11.
US gold futures were down 1.1 per cent at $1,274.70 an ounce.
Centrist Emmanuel Macron took a big step towards the French presidency on Sunday by winning the first round of voting and qualifying for a May 7 runoff alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
The outcome lessens the risk of an anti-establishment shock on the scale of Britain's vote to quit the European Union, with Macron widely tipped to win the final vote and keep France in the union.
The euro scaled five-month highs against the dollar in early Asian trading on relief at the result, while US stock index futures rose sharply on Sunday.
North Korea said on Sunday it was ready to sink a US aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military might, in the latest sign of rising tension as US President Donald Trump prepared to call the leaders of China and Japan.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.52 per cent to 858.69 tonnes on Friday.
Barrick Gold Corp and its new Chinese partner presented a $500 million plan on Friday to make safety and environmental improvements to the Veladero gold mine in Argentina after a third cyanide spill in 18 months, a company executive said.
Hedge funds and other money managers increased their net long position in COMEX gold for the fifth straight week to April 18, lifting it to a five-month high, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday.
DATA AHEAD (GMT)
0800 Germany Ifo business climate April
1230 US National activity index March
1430 US Dallas Fed manufacturing index April