By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Gold futures traded near unchanged Tuesday, giving up early gains as a generally positive tone for equities robbed the yellow metal of its safe-haven allure.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z +0.06% fell 40 cents to $1,790.60 an ounce in electronic trade on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The precious metal went on a wild ride last week, tumbling sharply after notching a record, nominal high below $1,900 an ounce on Aug. 22.
Gold steadied at the end of last week but saw some renewed pressure on Monday as U.S. equities continued a rally, inspired in part by relief that Hurricane Irene was less destructive than feared, although the storm still caused death and destruction along the East Coast.
Economic data and lingering hopes that the Federal Reserve may provide an additional boost to the economy also helped lift equities on Monday, while metals saw modest selling pressure amid thin volume.
Global equities were mixed on Tuesday, with most Asian markets ending higher and Europe posting gains, while U.S. stock index futures edged lower.
On the supply front, miner Randgold Resources Ltd. UK:RRS -1.26% GOLD -2.48% on Tuesday trimmed its production guidance for the year after heavy rainfall at its Loulo Gounkoto gold mining complex in Mali.
The group said it’s now aiming for production at the mine to exceed the 80,000 ounces it achieved last quarter, rather than the previous target of 100,000 ounces. Randgold also revised its overall annual production guidance to a range of 740,000 to 760,000 ounces from a previous range of 750,000 to 790,000 ounces.
William L. Watts is a reporter for MarketWatch in Frankfurt.
