On Tuesday gold futures lost ground, pulling back from a three-month peak as the greenback edged higher against a soft euro.
Data earlier showed that housing starts jumped 20.2% in April, the largest jump in more than 24 years.
On the Comex division of New York Mercantile Exchange gold for June delivery dropped $14.30, or 1.2%, to
$1,214.80/oz, while July silver dropped 34.2 cents, or 1.9%, to
$17.39 an ounce.
July platinum fell $17.40, or 1.5%, to
$1,161.10 an ounce, while June palladium lost $7.60, or 1%, to $785.40
an ounce.
July copper lost 4.25 cents, or 1.5%, to $2.864 a pound.
Gold extended its losses as it was impacted by data which showed housing starts rose 20.2% in April - the largest jump in more than 24 years.
Richard Perry, strategist at Hantec Markets, said in a note that strengthening dollar was a drag on gold. “The prospect of a breakout and upside on gold remains though with upside pressure still on Treasury yields despite a lack of inflationary pressure, the market may be looking still for gold as a safe haven play.”
The ICE dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a
basket of six major rivals, was up 1.3%.
The euro was on track for its biggest one-day loss versus the dollar in two months after senior ECB policymaker Benoit Coeure's comments who said the bank is planning to speed up its bond-buying stimulus plan before the summer so that to avoid the “notably lower market liquidity” in late July and August. It was also weighed on as German investor confidence fell below analysts' estimates after growth in Europe’s largest economy slowed in the first quarter of 2015.
