Investing.com - Gold prices lost ground on Tuesday as a wave of better-than-expected earnings stateside supported risk sentiment and investors opted for equities.
At 9:23 AM ET (13:23 GMT), gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $7.59, or 0.6%, at $1,269.65 a troy ounce.
First-quarter results from the likes of Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) as well as a string of improved company guidance lifted risk sentiment to the detriment of the safe haven precious metal.
“In general, the undermined appeal of the non-interest-bearing gold will keep the prices under pressure in the near term,” Helen Rush, analyst at Capital Markets, said.
She warned that an upside correction could occur if risk aversion hits financial markets, but, “in the current environment, the yellow metal needs to hold above the $1,270 area in order to avoid a more aggressive decline”.
Jordan Roy-Byrne, chartered market technician and editor of TheDailyGold Premium, pointed to the lack of potential for the Federal Reserve to cut rates, which would benefit gold.
“If the Federal Reserve is not cutting rates in the next 12 months then the best case scenario for gold would be a bump in inflation that leads to a material decline in real interest rates and a steepening of the yield curve,” he said.
In other metals trading, silver futures lost 1.6% at $14.783 a troy ounce by 9:23 AM ET (13:23 GMT).
Palladium futures advanced 0.1% to $1,371.70 an ounce, while sister metal platinum traded down 0.8% at $895.10.