Gold prices edged lower in early trading on Monday morning, giving back some of the the strength it saw from late last week.
April gold fell to $939.80, down $2.90 for the session. Prices dipped as low as $933.00 earlier in the day.
There was no major economic news scheduled from the U.S. on Monday. Some traders peeked ahead to the release of key reports on retail sales, business inventories, and the U.S. trade deficit later in the week.
Traders continued to digest the Department of Labor report from Friday that revealed non-farm payroll employment fell by 651,000 jobs in February following a revised decrease of 655,000 jobs in January.
In the top corporate story of the day, drug giant Merck (MRK) has agreed to acquire rival Schering-Plough (SGP) for $41.1 billion in cash and stock. While such merger news would typically generate some positive sentiment, traders seem reluctant to express any optimism.
Gold closed last week up 20 cents after bouncing off of a three-week low reached on Wednesday. Before surging on Thursday, gold had lost nearly $100 since closing at an 11-month high of $1,002.20 on Feb. 20.
