On the Comex in New York, gold futures for August delivery declined 1.8 percent to settle at $1,152.60 an ounce at 1:48 p.m. after touching $1,146.80, the lowest for a most-active contract since March 18. Silver futures for September delivery tumbled 5 percent to $14.969 an ounce. Earlier, the metal reached $14.62, the cheapest since Dec. 1.
The dollar rose to a five-week high against a basket of 10 currencies. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is in Brussels for what could be a last chance to secure a rescue from European leaders and keep his country in the euro. In the week ended June 30, the net-long position in gold futures and options plunged 55 percent, the most since U.S. government data began in June 2006.
Gold has dropped 12 percent in the past 12 months as the greenback jumped 18 percent.
Bullish bets on gold futures and options last week fell to 21,480 contracts, the lowest since October 2006, government data showed Monday. Holdings in global exchange-traded funds backed by the metal declined in eight of the past nine weeks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Aggregate futures trading in silver on Tuesday was 88 percent above the 100-day average for this time, according to Bloomberg data. Gold volume was 37 percent higher.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for October delivery dropped 2.3 percent to $1,041.50 an ounce after falling to $1,027, the lowest since February 2009. Palladium futures for September delivery fell 3.5 percent to $652.40 an ounce, the biggest decline since March 27.
Sumber : ewfpro.com
