Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures dropped sharply to end below $900 an ounce Tuesday, as a surge in the U.S. dollar lowered investment demand for the precious metal. Gold for April delivery declined $19.10 to finish at $890.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Other metals prices were also sharply lower.

"The strong dollar certainly put a damper on gold, but the pullback in gold may be short lived if the dollar rally fails," said Kevin Kerr, president of Kerrtrade.com and editor of Dow Jones MarketWatch's Global Resources Trader. "Most of the commodity sectors are taking it on the chin today because of dollar weakness," Kerr said. "Gold has also consolidated some of the recent gains on profit-taking." The U.S. dollar rallied against most major currencies, as currency traders appeared to shrug off dismal U.S. nonmanufacturing sector data and focus instead on growing signs of an impending slowdown in Europe. See full story.