By MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Gold prices dipped on Monday, continuing last week's fall, as demand for other assets improved and inflation worries diminished.
"Inflationary pressures have receded globally and this has dampened buying momentum of late," wrote analysts at Action Economics.
Gold for August delivery fell 70 cents to $1,187.50 an ounce in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
On Friday, the contract tallied its biggest one-day drop so far this month, dropping $20.10, or 1.7%, to end at $1,188.20 an ounce.
Stock-index futures pointed to a modestly higher start on Wall Street, as traders awaited the next round of corporate results, searching for clues about the health of the global economic recovery.
On Friday, the Labor Department reported the main consumer-price index for June dropped 0.1%, the third straight monthly decline. The core rate, viewed as a better measure of inflationary trends, rose 0.2% but remains at historic lows.
