Gold futures fell Tuesday for a second straight session, further retreating from $1,000 an ounce to trade near $970, as market analysts cited profit-taking on the precious metal's recent rally.
Gold for February delivery last stood at $970.20 an ounce, down $24.80, or 2.4%, in North American electronic trading. It had surged above $1,000 on Friday, the first time for a front-month contract since March 18, 2008.
The February contract will expire on Wednesday, with open interest, or the total amount of outstanding contracts, standing at 126,800 ounces as of Monday. Trading more actively, the April contract fell $16.60, or 1.7%, to $978.40 an ounce.
The rally in gold above the $1,000 mark is "showing signs of fatigue," wrote analysts at Action Economics.
The action this week indicates "some leverage accounts and short-term players looking to book profits," they told clients.
As gold pulled back, crude oil traded higher. U.S. stocks picked up steam as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress a full economic recovery will take another two to three years. Read more on Bernanke's testimony.
Later Tuesday, President Barack Obama is expected to press his economic agenda in his first address to Congress, two days ahead of rolling out his administration's budget. See full story.
Meanwhile, gold holdings in SPDR Gold Shares , the largest gold exchange-traded fund, stood at a record level of 1,028.98 tons Monday, unchanged from a day ago, according to latest data from the fund. The total was up more than 220 tons from a month ago.
The SPDR Gold Trust slid 2.4% to $95.42.
In other metals trading Tuesday, March copper gained 2.2% to $1.4685 a pound, while March silver lost 1.9% to $14.175 an ounce.
March palladium fell 0.5% to $199.25 an ounce, and the April contract for sister metal platinum dropped 2.6% to $1,052 an ounce.
In equities, shares of Barrick Gold Corp lost 6.4% to $33.34, while Goldcorp Inc. fell 5.4% to $29.13, and South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd. was down 6.5% to $10.45.
The Amex Gold Bugs Index , which tracks the share prices of major gold companies, fell 4.9% to 300.70.
The iShares Gold Trust ETF slid 2.1% to $95.72, while the iShares Silver Trust ETF lost 1.9% to $14.07.
