Gold fell nearly 1 percent, down for a second day on Tuesday after better-than-expected US economic data and easing tensions over North Korea encouraged investors to buy riskier assets, boosting stocks, the US dollar and bond yields. Gold, seen as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, rose to a two-month high of $1,291.86 on Friday after a week of escalating military threats between Washington and Pyongyang.
But fears of conflict eased when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday signalled he would delay a decision on firing missiles towards Guam, a US territory in the Pacific. "Gold longs liquidated as the chances of a Korean catastrophe appeared to fall significantly overnight and this morning surprisingly strong US retail sales data buoyed US yields and the dollar, which pressured gold further to lows," said Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York.
"Silver retreated sharply in sympathy as well but both metals have held important support and may trade sideways ahead the Fed minutes tomorrow." Spot gold was down 0.8 percent at $1,271.58 an ounce by 3:07 pm EDT (1907 GMT), taking losses since Friday's high to nearly 2 percent.
US gold futures for December delivery fell 0.8 percent to settle at $1,279.70. Silver was down 2.1 percent at $16.65 an ounce, falling below its 100- and 200-day moving averages. Speculative investors who had in recent weeks built up large bets on higher prices were being forced to reduce their positions, pushing prices lower, Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said.
Technical Fibonacci supports for gold were at $1,274.70 and $1,261.30, ScotiaMocatta analysts said in a note. In other precious metals, Platinum was down 0.7 percent at $958.5, while palladium was 1.1 percent lower at $885.10 an ounce.
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