(RTTNews) - Gold futures closed lower on Monday, extending losses for a second straight day on a strong dollar following some upbeat data last week. Gold prices turned lower despite continued eurozone concerns over the stalemate in Greece's talks with private creditors for an agreement on its sovereign debt.
Gold closed lower with April delivery, the most actively traded contract, down $15.40 or 0.9 percent to close at $1,724.90 an ounce on Monday. The precious metal traded at an intraday high of $1,740.90 an ounce and a low of $1,714.00 an ounce.
Last week, gold advanced to a 3-month high near $1,760 before settling at $1,740.30 after some positive U.S. data helped kindle interest in riskier assets.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, rose to 79.135 on Monday from 78.969 in late Friday trade.
This morning, the U.S. dollar moved back near a 2-week high versus the euro. The euro dropped for a third day and traded at $1. 3111 on Monday, down from $1.3147 late Friday.
In economic news, euro zone investor confidence improved for the second consecutive month in February, according to a survey by the think tank Sentix. The confidence index rose sharply to -11.1 from -21.1 in January. Economists were expecting the indicator to climb to -16.5.
Separately, Eurostat said the euro area government debt declined to 87.4 percent of gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2011 from 87.7 percent at the end of the second quarter. Compared with the third quarter of 2010, the government debt to GDP ratio rose in the euro area to 87.4 percent from 83.2 percent.
Meanwhile, Germany's factory orders grew 1.7 percent month-on-month in December, after falling 4.9 percent in November, the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology said. The growth rate exceeded the 1 percent growth forecast.
