Investing.com - Gold prices declined in European trade on Tuesday, falling for the first time in three sessions as investors locked in gains after futures climbed to the highest level since July 2014 in wake of last week’s Brexit shock.
Gold for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange shed $4.95, or 0.37%, to trade at $1,319.95 a troy ounce by 06:45GMT, or 2:45AM ET. A day earlier, prices inched up $2.30, or 0.17%.
Prices of the yellow metal surged to a 27-month peak of $1,362.60 last Friday, after a shock U.K. vote to exit the European Union sent investors flooding into bullion and other safe haven assets.
The news raised concerns that other countries might leave the union and that global growth would come under significant pressure, while the actual timeframe of the U.K. departure from the EU remained unclear.
In the latest blow for the U.K., ratings agency Standard & Poor's announced Monday that it had lowered the U.K.’s sovereign credit rating from "AAA" to "AA," citing last week's referendum. Meanwhile Fitch lowered its rating from AA+ to AA with a negative outlook.
The precious metal is up almost 25% for the year to date, boosted by concerns over global growth and as market players pushed back expectations for the next U.S. rate hike.
In the U.S., data due Tuesday includes the third look at first quarter GDP, expected to rise to 1%. It is released at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET. There are also S&P/Case Shiller home prices at 13:00GMT, or 9:00AM ET, followed by consumer confidence data, at 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for August delivery dipped 2.6 cents, or 0.15%, to trade at $17.74 a troy ounce during morning hours in London, while copper futures jumped 3.6 cents, or 1.72%, to $2.162 a pound.