Gold Ends At 2-Week Low

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended at a more than two-week low on Friday, as global equities markets continued to rise driven by some upbeat earnings reports from the U.S. and a few encouraging economic data from the U.S. and China last week.

Nevertheless, gold found support on investor concerns over the eastern Ukraine crisis after weekend developments, but this was neutralized by some weak demand from the world's largest consumer, China.

Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $5.40 or 0.4 percent to close at $1,288.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

Gold for April delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,302.50 and a low of $1,281.80 an ounce.

Gold futures ended at a two-week low last Thursday, shedding about 1.9 percent for the week. Investors focus shifted away from the yellow metal following an uptick in global equities markets on the back of some encouraging economic reports from the U.S. and China recently.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, dropped to 795.14 tons on Monday from its previous close of 798.43 tons last Thursday.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 79.97 on Monday, up from its previous close of 79.87 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 79.99 intraday and a low of 79.79.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3789 on Monday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3815 late Thursday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3855 intraday and a low of $1.3888.

In economic news from the U.S., leading economic indicators showed continued improvement in the month of March, with the Conference Board's leading economic index rising by a more than expected 0.8 percent following a 0.5 percent increase in February. The consensus estimate calls for a 0.7 percent month-over-month increase in the index following a 0.5 percent increase in February.