MW: Gold prices slide along with equities ahead of Fed statement
By Claudia Assis and Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures skidded below $1,200 an ounce Tuesday, retreating further with investors selling equities and commodities ahead of the Federal Reserve's announcement on monetary policy and the status of the U.S. economy.
Gold for December delivery fell $8.40, or 0.7%, to $1,194.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract dropped 0.2% Monday, reversing course after a higher open.
"Despite signs of risk aversion overnight, with equities lower and the dollar and yen trading higher, gold has slipped below the $1,200 level putting pressure on the rest of the complex," said James Moore, analyst with the Bulliondesk.com.
"The focus will be on the strength and tone of [Ben] Bernanke's statement and whether the Fed chairman takes further action to bolster the economy following last week's bearish jobs report," Moore added.
Stocks declined amid nervousness ahead of the Fed's announcement and as China released weaker-than-expected trade data for July. The Fed announcement is due for release at 2:15 p.m. Eastern time.
Other metals joined gold in the early move lower.
Copper for September delivery lost 2.2%, shedding 7 cents to $3.28 a pound. September silver retreated 20 cents, or 1.1%, to $18.04 an ounce.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 10,576, -123.06, -1.15%) and the S&P 500 Index (SPX 1,114, -14.13, -1.25%) quickly sold off more than 1%.
Oil futures were also down, lately off $1.68 at $79.80 a barrel in electronic trade on the Nymex, while the dollar gained against the euro and other rival currencies.
The euro (EURUSD 1.3098, -0.0119, -0.9000%) dropped 0.6% to $1.313 as the dollar index, which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six other currencies (DXY 81.44, +0.73, +0.90%) , rose 0.8% to 81.39, strengthening modestly from earlier.
