By Barbara Kollmeyer and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch MADRID (MarketWatch) — A fourth winning session was in jeopardy for gold on Tuesday as a disappointing batch of economic data from the euro zone and China triggered caution among investors. Gold for June delivery GCM3 -1.02% fell $11.70, or 1.7%, to $1,409.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold reached as high as $1,431.20 an ounce in Asia, according to FactSet data. “Cycle-sensitive crude oil and copper prices are following stocks lower while gold and silver are facing de-facto pressure as haven demand boosts the U.S. dollar, denting demand for anti-fiat assets,� said Ilya Spivak, currency strategist at Daily FX, in a note on the company’s website. Fiat money is a reference to any currency that isn’t backed by something tangible, such as gold or silver. He said resistance for gold sits at $1,434.43, and a break above that aims for a 50% Fibonacci retracement of $1,469.28. Near-term support is at $1,391.30, then $1,321.59 below that, he said. Upsetting commodities on Tuesday, the composite German purchasing managers’ index fell to a six-month low at 48.8 from 50.6 in March, indicating contraction — the first such reading for the country since November. Read: Now, even Germany has fallen prey to the euro-zone debt crisis. Meanwhile, manufacturing-activity growth in China slowed, according to HSBC data released Tuesday. U.S. stocks opened higher, shaking off that data and focusing on some upbeat earnings releases. Prices for gold on Monday marked their third consecutive session of advances, rising $25.60, or 1.8%, to $1,421.20 an ounce. The gain came as figures from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report suggested big traders, including hedge funds and commodity trading advisors, reduced their bets for a fall in gold prices. Gold prices last week lost 7%, and face a drop of roughly 11% in April. Analysts have attributed a number of factors to the drop in gold prices, including declines in gold holdings among exchange-traded funds and worries that central banks will start selling gold reserves. And the investment bank world was at it again on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs closed its recommendation for clients to “short� gold, telling them to exit out of those bets on lower gold prices. And UBS slashed its short-term gold target, citing soured sentiment on the metal, though it trails other investment banks, such as Goldman, in lowering its targets. Citing China concerns and bearish indicators, Goldman Sachs on Monday cut its three-, six- and 12-month copper forecasts following a heavy selloff over the past two months. May copper futures HGK3 -0.67% on Tuesday fell 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.11 a pound, extending Monday’s loss of 0.6%. May silver SIK3 -2.40% futures fell 48 cents, or 2%, to trade at $22.86 an ounce, cutting into its gain on Monday of 1.6%. July platinum futures PLN3 -1.46% gave up $18.40, or 1.3%, to $1,417.90 an ounce and palladium for June delivery PAM3 -1.84% fell $11.85, or 1.7%, to $670.05 an ounce, erasing Monday’s advance. Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Follow her on Twitter @MWBarbaraKollmeyer. Carla Mozee is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter @MWMozee.

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