(RTTNews) - The price of gold was extending losses Monday morning as the U.S. dollar turned firm after an upbeat jobs report.
Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, lost $18.70 to $1,721.60 an ounce. Last week, gold advanced to a 3-month high near $1,760 before settling at $1,740 after a resoundingly positive U.S. jobs report generated interest in riskier assets.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,277.13 tons.
This morning, the U.S. dollar moved back near a 2-week high versus the euro and continued to level off from its 2-month low against sterling. The buck was moving higher the Swiss franc, while trading flat against the yen.
In economic news, euro zone investor confidence improved for the second consecutive month in February, according to a survey by the think tank Sentix. The confidence index rose sharply to -11.1 from -21.1 in January. Economists were expecting the indicator to climb to -16.5
Meanwhile, Germany's factory orders grew 1.7 percent month-on-month in December, after falling 4.9 percent in November, the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology said. The growth rate exceeded the 1 percent growth forecast.
Elsewhere, the prices of silver and platinum were moving lower in morning deals.
