Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures fell to their lowest level in nearly four weeks as most major assets except for the U.S. dollar were seeing red after the nuclear crisis in post-earthquake Japan deepened. Gold for April delivery fell $32.10, or 2.3%, to settle at $1,392.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was gold's lowest settlement since Feb. 18 and the largest percentage loss since Jan. 4. Copper settled at its lowest in nearly three months, and silver also posted a multiweek low.

Gold fell as stock markets from the U.S. to countries in Asia and Europe suffered heavy losses as a new blast and fire Tuesday rocked a Japanese nuclear plant, where workers were already trying to avert a meltdown. The day's broad market slump is due to "liquidation of any risk asset, and when it comes to metals, that also takes away Asian buying, a very important component" of the trade, said Bill O'Neill, a principal with Logic Advisors in New Jersey. "There's lots of uncertainty … but not the kind of uncertainty that gold thrives on," he added. The correction, however, could be short unless Japan's nuclear crisis deepens even further, O'Neill said. Marketwatch