By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Gold futures fell Wednesday, continuing to retreat from the $1,600 level as a climb in the U.S. dollar highlighted an appetite for risk among investors.
Gold for June delivery GCM3 -0.29% in electronic trade fell $10.30, or 0.7%, to $1,565.70 an ounce.
Gold fell sharply during North American trade Tuesday, giving up $25 to settle at $1,575.90 an ounce, the lowest settlement for a most-active contract since March 7, according to FactSet data. ‘
The precious metal was hurt by a rise in the greenback against the euro EURUSD -0.0393% following disappointing data from Europe, including contraction in the euro-zone manufacturing sector in March. The dollar also rose against the yen USDJPY +0.0872% ahead of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting.
Strength in the dollar cuts into prices of dollar-denominated commodities such as gold as it makes them more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar on Wednesday continued to rise against the yen as the Bank of Japan started its two-day monetary policy meeting.
Investors on Tuesday were also lured away from gold as U.S. equities rallied, fueled in part by a rise in U.S. factory orders in February and upbeat auto sales figures for March. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.61% and the S&P 500 Index SPX +0.52% finished at record highs.
Remaining under pressure Wednesday, silver futures for May SIK3 -0.47% lost 31 cents, or 1.1%, to $26.94 an ounce. They fell to $27.25 an ounce on Tuesday, the lowest level for a most-active contract since early August.
May copper futures HGK3 -0.62% slipped 0.2% to $3.37 a pound and July platinum PLN3 -0.33% fell $9.9, or 0.6%, to $1,564.30 an ounce. June palladium PAM3 -0.71% shed $5.40, or 0.7%, to $764.05 an ounce.
Carla Mozee is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter @MWMozee.
