Gold Futures Settle Lower For 5th Straight Day

Gold futures failed to retain early gains and ended lower on Monday, extending losses to a fifth straight session.

Gold prices fell as investors rushed to pick up riskier assets amid some upbeat economic data, the passage of a $1.9 trillion Coronavirus relief package by the House of Representatives and on positive developments on the vaccine front.

As equities surged higher, the Dow, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 climbed 2.4%, 2.7% and 3%, respectively.

The dollar’s rise weighed as well on the yellow metal. The dollar index rose to 91.14, gaining nearly 0.3%.

Gold futures for April ended down $5.80 or about 0.3% at $1,723.00 an ounce, after rising to a high of $1,757.40.

Silver futures for May ended higher by $0.238 at $26.678 an ounce, while Copper futures settled at $4.1130 per pound, gaining $0.0205.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing U.S. manufacturing activity grew at an accelerated rate in the month of February.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI rose to 60.8 in February from 58.7 in January, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 58.8.

A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. construction spending increased by much more than anticipated in the month of January.

The Commerce Department said construction spending spiked by 1.7% to an annual rate of $1.522 trillion in January after jumping by 1.1% to a revised rate of $1.497 trillion in December. Economists had expected construction spending to climb by 0.8%.

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