by Rachel Koning Beals
Market Watch
Gold falls for a second straight session Monday, unable to extend a strong first-quarter performance as dollar and stock strength sap demand for the shiny haven asset.
Gold prices are “pressured by better risk appetite in the world market place recently and by a firmer U.S. dollar index on this day,” said Jim Wyckoff, analyst with Kitco.
June gold trades down $3.80, or 0.3%, at $1,219.70 an ounce, falling in back-to-back sessions after prices ended the first quarter up 16.4%—the best gain in a calendar quarter since 1986. The dollar index which measures the U.S. currency’s performance against six other currencies, is up 0.1%, at 94.77.
The SPDR Gold Trust fell 0.4% at 116.47 early Monday; it too ended the first quarter with a roughly 16% gain.