Investing.com - Gold futures were lower for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, as investors preferred the relative safety of the U.S. dollar amid fresh concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,240.45 a troy ounce during European morning hours, down 0.25% on the day. Comex gold fell by as much as 0.6% earlier in the day to hit a session low of USD1,236.05 a troy ounce. Gold prices fell to USD1,180.35 a troy ounce on June 28, the weakest level since August 3, 2010. Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,180.35 a troy ounce, Friday’s low and a 34-month low and near-term resistance at USD1,276.05, the high from June 26. The U.S. dollar rose to a five-week high against the euro as renewed concerns over the handling of financial troubles in peripheral euro zone countries weighed on market sentiment. The yield on Portugal’s 10-year government bond surged to 8.01%, from 6.539% on Tuesday after the country’s Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar resigned on Monday. Meanwhile, euro zone officials said Tuesday that Greece has three days to reach an agreement with its troika of lenders, in order to secure the next tranche of its bailout funding at a meeting of the eurogroup of finance ministers next week. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.1% to trade at 83.91, the highest level since May 29. A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies. Gold traders now looked ahead to Friday’s highly-anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for indications of how the recovery in the U.S. labor market is progressing. Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months. The precious metal declined nearly 23% in the second quarter, the largest quarterly loss on record, amid speculation the Fed will start to unwind its bond purchasing program in the coming months. Gold prices are on track to post a loss of almost 26% on the year, the worst yearly decline since 1981, after rising in each of the past 12 years. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery rose 0.6% to trade at USD19.42 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery eased up 0.2% to trade at USD3.149 a pound.

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