By Claudia Assis and April H. Lee, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold prices dipped further into the red Monday after sales of new homes climbed more than expected, stoking hopes the economic recovery is on track and denting gold's safety-buy appeal.
Gold futures for August delivery lost $7.30 at $1,180.60 an ounce on the Comex division of New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal last week veered between gains and losses, finishing with a weekly drop of less than 0.1%.
U.S. new home sales rebounded in June after falling to all-time low in May, the Commerce Department estimated Monday. The increase in new-home sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 330,000 was well above the 316,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.
Silver tracked gold lower, but other metals gained on the news, with copper, used in electrical wiring for construction, rising 1.2%. Copper for September delivery added 4 cents, or 1.2%, to $3.22 a pound.
Silver for September delivery lost a penny, or 0.1%, to $18.09 an ounce.
