Gold fell more than 1 percent on Monday as traders cashed in gains that took the metal to five-month highs last week, with the wider markets shrugging off news that an anti-austerity party had won elections in Greece. Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras, whose Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election on Sunday, was set to become prime minister of the first euro zone government openly opposed to the bailout conditions imposed by the European Union and International Monetary Fund during the economic crisis.
Spot gold was down 1 percent at $1,280.80 an ounce by 2:47 pm EST (1947 GMT), off an earlier low of $1,275.75. US gold futures for February delivery settled down $13.20, or 1 percent, at $1,279.40. Meanwhile silver was down 1.9 percent at $17.90 an ounce, while platinum was down 1.1 percent at $1,247.99 an ounce and palladium was down 0.6 percent at $775.72 an ounce.