By Barani Krishnan
Investing.com – Gold traded sideways on Monday before sliding on a stronger dollar, some profit-taking and an unexpected rebound on Wall Street. Yet, with the coronavirus epidemic continuing to ring alarm bells the world over, market proponents said it was a matter of time before the yellow metal took out the $1,600 resistance.
Gold futures for April delivery on New York’s COMEX settled the day down $5.50, or 0.3%, at $1,582.40. The high for the day was $1,594.50, less than $6 short of gold bugs’ target for $1,600.
Spot gold, which tracks live trades in bullion, was down $12.62, or 0.8%, at $1,577.19 per ounce by 3:00 PM ET (20:00 GMT).
Gold futures rose almost 4% for January, while bullion gained nearly 5%, the best performances for both since August.
Gold’s nemesis, the dollar, rose for the first time in three sessions on Monday, cutting the yellow metal’s advance. The dollar index, which pits the greenback in a basket against six other currencies, was up 0.4% at 97.65.
“While all eyes are on headlines about the virus, many central banks may be dovish, which lowers other currencies even as the U.S. dollar seems the highest, most liquid and safest for capital,” said George Gero, precious metals analyst at RBC Wealth Management in New York. “All this is temporarily prompting gold buyers to seek other trading opportunities.”
An unexpected rebound in U.S. stocks, after the first monthly loss in nearly two quarters in January, also took some shine off gold. All three of Wall Street’s key stock indexes were up, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading gains with a rise of 1.35%.