Daily Gold Update

Source:Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures closed with a loss of more than $6 an ounce Wednesday with strength in the U.S. dollar against other major currencies prompting the precious metal to end a three-session winning streak Gold for June delivery fell to a low of $865.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It closed $6.50 lower at $871.20, after climbing nearly $27 over the previous three trading sessions. "Gold traded back on the defensive after the dollar reasserted itself in the European morning," said analysts at Action Economics.

The dollar rose Wednesday as downbeat U.S. home sales data failed to offset the effects of weak U.K. and eurozone data earlier. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 73.53 in North American trading, compared with 73.015 late Tuesday. The greenback's rise came despite a drop in the National Association of Realtors' index of sales contracts on previously owned homes. The index, considered a leading indicator of existing home sales, fell 1.0% in March, and was 20.1% below the March 2007 level. See full story.