By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures retreated in electronic trading Tuesday, paring sharp previous session gains, as investors mulled more negative developments from Europe ahead of a leaders’ summit later this week.
Gold for August delivery GCQ2 -0.31% lost $3.80, or 0.2%, to $1,584.60 an ounce during Asian trading hours.
The metal jumped 1.4% in Monday’s session as pessimism about this week’s European Union summit helped drive investment demand.
Ahead of the meeting, more signs of distress in the region’s financial system emerged.
Cyprus joined the ranks of European countries seeking financial aid, and Spain formally asked for help for its banking system. Late Monday, Moody’s Investor Service downgraded 28 Spanish banks by one to four notches.
The broader metals complex followed gold lower, though copper edged up.
July silver SIN2 -0.71% dropped 16 cents, or 0.6%, to $27.36 an ounce, while July platinum PLN2 -0.17% slipped $1.50, or 0.1%, to $1,437.90 an ounce.
September palladium lost $1.45, or 0.2%, to $605.80 an ounce.
July copper HGN2 -0.17% added 1 cent, or 0.2%, to $3.32 per pound.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
