Gold Ends Lower As Russia-Ukraine Standoff Eases

(RTTNews) - Gold futures settled lower on Tuesday, giving back some strong recent gains amid hopes of a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ukraine with Russian President indicating his country will not attack the Crimea region in Ukraine.

With tensions easing somewhat, the precious metal lost its safe haven appeal with investors mulling over a slew of positive data out of the U.S. yesterday with no major economic data expected out of the U.S. on Tuesday.

In his first remarks since the Ukraine crisis sparked-off, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the protests in Kiev and the ultimate ouster of Viktor Yanukovych. Putin termed the ouster as kind of coup, and stressed Kremlin's right to exercise force in Ukraine in the future to safeguard Russian nationals.

The Russian president ordered thousands of troops back from the Ukraine border ending military exercises near Crimea region border, raising hopes for a peaceful end to the standoff with its southern neighbors. Putin also said the Kremlin has no plans to annex the strategically important Crimea region.

Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $12.40 or 0.9 percent to close at $1,337.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.

Gold for April delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,352.90 and a low of $1,331.20 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold prices jumped to a 4-month peak, above $1355 an ounce, on safe haven buying but have since leveled off.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, remained unchanged at 803.70 tons from its previous close.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.16 on Tuesday, up from its previous close of 80.06 late Monday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.21 intraday and a low of 79.92.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3735 on Tuesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3734 late Monday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3781 intraday and a low of $1.3722.

In economic news, inflation in the OECD area rose slightly in January, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said Tuesday. Consumer prices rose 1.7 percent year-on-year, following a 1.6 percent increase in December. Inflation was largely led by energy prices, which rose 2.1 percent annually versus 1.7 percent in December. Food price inflation, meanwhile, slowed to 1.4 percent from 1.5 percent. Excluding food and energy, core inflation in the OECD area held steady at 1.6 percent in January.

Month-on-month, OECD area prices edged up 0.1 percent in January. In the G20 area, inflation was 2.6 percent in January, which was slower than 2.9 percent in December. In the G7, inflation was 1.4 percent, unchanged from December. Within the G7, the U.K. logged the highest inflation rate of 1.9 percent for January.