Gold Settles Lower With Continued Focus On Greece

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended lower for a second straight session on Friday, after fluctuating for much of the day as investors continued to track developments in the Greek financial crisis. Last Friday, the eurozone finance ministers reached a deal with Athens to extend its bailout funding program.

The agreement with the eurozone finance ministers require Greece to provide an initial list of reform measures by Monday, and as promised by Finance Minister Yakis Varoufakis. The task of providing its own list of reforms may prove arduous for Athens, keeping in mind the Greek electorate had rejected the harsh reforms as conditions for bailout assistance and agreed by the previous government. Any going back on the promise may spell further disaster for Greece.

Meanwhile, news reports say the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble assured his country that until a satisfactory proposal was forthcoming from Greece, no more aid will be released.

Investors also await the crucial semi-annual Congressional testimony of Fed Chair Janet Yellen tomorrow for any possible hints as to when the central bank will hike interest rates.

The minutes of the recent Fed meeting were released last week, which showed a reluctance to raise interest rates. However, this will be Yellen's first chance to provide some cue about rates since the release of January's blockbuster jobs report.

Gold for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, shed $4.10 or 0.3 percent to settle at $1,200.80 an ounce, on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

Gold for April delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,210.30 and a low of $1,190.60 an ounce.

On Friday, gold ended at $1,204.90 an ounce, down $2.70 or 0.2 percent, after reports said the eurozone finance ministers reached a deal between Athens and the eurozone countries to extend Greece's financial aid program. Gold futures shed about 1.8 percent last week.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose to 771.25 tons on Monday from its previous close of 769.46 tons on Friday.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 94.60 on Monday, up from its previous close of 94.31 on Friday in late North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 94.92 intraday and a low of 94.28.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.1333 on Monday, as compared to its previous close of $1.1381 on Friday in late North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.1395 intraday and a low of $1.1296.

On the economic front, existing home sales in the U.S. fell more than anticipated in January, a report from the National Association of Realtors showed Monday. Existing home sales tumbled 4.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.82 million in January from an upwardly revised 5.07 million in December. Economists expected sales to fall to a rate of 4.95 million from the 5.04 million originally reported for the previous month.

German business confidence improved for a fourth consecutive month in February to its highest level in seven months, but the pace of strengthening was modest amid concerns over the uncertainty surrounding the Greek situation. The Ifo Business Climate in February climbed to 106.8 from January's 106.7. Economists had forecast a stronger score of 107.6. The latest reading, however, was the best since July last year, when it was 108.1.

British retail sales growth eased sharply in February to its weakest level since late 2013, after six months of robust performance, survey data from the Confederation of British Industry revealed Monday. The balance of the CBI's distributive trades survey dropped to +1 from +39 in January. Economists were looking for a figure of +35.