NEW YORK: US gold futures ended lower on Monday, notching its first monthly decline in six months, as strong US factory and spending data coupled with fading worries about the euro zone debt crisis put a damper on the metal's rally.
GOLD: COMEX April gold futures settled down $7.20 at $1,334.50 an ounce on the COMEX division of the NYMEX.
Ranged from $1,323.60 to $1,347.20 an ounce.
Gold faced pressure from data showing factory activity in the US Midwest hit a 22-1/2 year high in January as orders surged and employment prospects brightened, and as a report showed consumer spending ended 2010 on a firmer footing.
Monday's decline in gold is just a blip on the radar. Last Friday's de-risking trade is going to reassert itself - James Dailey, portfolio manager of the TEAM Asset Strategy Fund.
Prospect of unrest in Egypt spreading across the Middle East should fuel safe-haven buying in the near term - traders.
Gold's decline came as commodities were on course to end January up 2 percent after London's Brent crude oil surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time since 2008.
COMEX total gold futures volume sharply lower than usual at around half of Friday's 300,000 lots - preliminary Reuters data. Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,330.65 an ounce by 3:15 p.m. EST (2015 GMT), having hit a low of $1,322.90.
SILVER: COMEX March silver ended up 25 cents at $28.169 an ounce on industrial commodities' strength. Ranged from $27.520 to $28.425.
COMEX estimated silver futures volume was 3 percent lower than 30-day average - preliminary Reuters data.
Silver rose 0.3 percent to $27.98, having risen earlier to a one-week high at $28.31.
PLATINUM: NYMEX April platinum finished down $4.10 at $1,800.90 an ounce on profit-taking after Friday's gains.
Spot platinum slipped 0.4 percent to $1,785.34 an ounce.
PALLADIUM: NYMEX March palladium closed up $3.10 at $820.10 an ounce on investor buying. Spot palladium dropped 0.4 percent to $810.50. Prices at 3:30 p.m.
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