Forexpros - Gold futures added to losses during U.S. morning hours on Monday, falling to the lowest level since mid-September after official data showed that U.S. retail sales rose more-than-expected in September, increasing for the third successive month. Uncertainty over Spain’s position on formally requesting a bailout from its euro zone partners also weighed on sentiment, boosting demand for the safe haven U.S. dollar. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,737.45 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, tumbling 1.25%. Prices declined by as much as 1.35% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD1,735.55 a troy ounce, the weakest level since September 13. Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,705.55 a troy ounce, the low from September 13 and resistance at USD1,774.95, the high from October 12. The Commerce Department said earlier that retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in September, beating expectations for a 0.8% increase. Retail sales in August were revised up to a 1.2% gain from a previously reported increase of 0.9%. Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose by 1.1%, outstripping expectations for a 0.6% increase. The upbeat retail sales data reinforced the view that the U.S. economy is improving, raising concern the Federal Reserve might scale back its monetary easing measures. The Fed announced last month that it will buy USD40 billion of mortgage-backed securities each month until the U.S. labor market improves. A separate report showed that the New York Federal Reserve’s index of manufacturing conditions improved to minus 6.2 in October from minus 10.4 the previous month, but remained in contraction territory for the third consecutive month. Meanwhile, investors were jittery as uncertainty over Spain’s position on formally requesting a bailout from its euro zone partners persisted. Market players have been anticipating for the past month that the Spanish government would ask for a full-scale sovereign bailout. A bailout would allow the European Central Bank to step in and buy Spanish sovereign debt, which would result in reduced borrowing costs for the debt-strapped nation. But Spain has been reluctant to do so because it may come with conditions on its budget. European Union policymakers will hold a two-day summit in Brussels starting on October 18 to discuss ways to firewall and extinguish the debt crisis as well as Greece's steps towards fiscal recovery. The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against its major counterparts, with the dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, gaining 0.07% to trade at 79.85. Gold prices often move inversely to the U.S. dollar, as gold becomes more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Prices came under further pressure after breaking below key support levels close to the USD1,739-level, triggering fresh sell orders amid bearish chart signals. The precious metal could see further losses in the near-term after having failed to break above the key USD1,800-level earlier in the month. Gold futures rallied to an 11-month high of USD1,798.05 a troy ounce on October 5, boosted by ongoing expectations policymakers around the world will launch more stimulus to support the weak global economy. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery plunged 2.5% to trade at USD32.84 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery fell 0.85% to trade at USD3.672 a pound. Official data released earlier showed that Chinese consumer prices rose 1.9% in September from the year-ago period, in line with expectations and down from 2.0% in August, while producer price inflation fell 3.6%, also in line with expectations. The data came after a report over the weekend showed that Chinese exports grew 9.9% on the year in September, above expectations for a 5.5% gain. Imports rose 2.4% from a year earlier, in line with expectations. Copper traders were now looking ahead to Chinese third quarter growth figures due out on October 18, to gauge whether the world second largest economy is heading towards a hard or a soft landing. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.

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