Brighter Data Pushes Gold to 33-Month Low
NEW YORK--Gold futures extended recent losses to set a 33-month low on Tuesday, as a string of stronger U.S. economic data bolstered equities and put a damper on interest in safe-haven assets, such as precious metals.</br></br>The most actively traded contract, for August delivery, settled down $2, or 0.2%, at $1,275.10 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.</br></br>That was the lowest settlement since September 2010 and marked a 24% drop in prices so far this year.</br></br>Investors have been selling out of gold amid expectations that the Federal Reserve would start paring back its bond-purchasing program before year end.</br></br>Gold traders worry that interest rates will pull higher without the Fed's supportive measures, curtailing appetite for zero-yielding safe-haven assets.