Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures ended lower Monday for the second consecutive day, as the dollar rose for much of the session and investors focused on the risk global interest-rate increases could curb appetite for commodities. Gold for April delivery fell $8.10, or 0.7%, to $1,099.50 an ounce by the close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, below the $1,100-an-ounce mark the yellow metal had managed to hold for the past three weeks. Gold for May delivery, a more thinly traded contract, also lost $8.10 to settle at $1,100.10 an ounce. Other commodities felt the pinch from the dollar, which rose for much of the session. Silver, palladium and copper also finished lower Monday. Oil recouped some of its earlier losses as it tracked U.S. equities.

Concerns about Greece, far from clearing up, kept applying pressure on the euro, and were amplified after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union should consider letting Greece turn to the International Monetary Fund for assistance, said The Wall Street Journal on its Web site Monday. Merkel also said that E.U. leaders meeting in Brussels later this week will not be discussing a financial package for Greece, noting that the country has not yet reached a point of no return, the newspaper said. See full story.