Gold futures settled sharply lower at a near five-month low Monday, amid deep concerns over the political uncertainties prevailing in Greece, while investors found safe haven in the dollar as the greenback continued to ride high against most major currencies.
Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, shed $23.00 or 1.5 percent to close at $1,561.00 an ounce Monday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold traded at an intraday high of $1,585.80 an ounce and a low of $1,555.00 an ounce.
Last week, gold shed nearly 4 percent as the dollar continued to gain with investor sentiments impacted by eurozone debt problems, focused mainly on Greece and Spain. While the Greek political drama continued, the Spanish banking system came under fire and government bond yields soared.
Markets were also rattled by both the Spanish and Italian bond yields, which continued to move higher. The Spanish benchmark 10-year yield jumped to 6.25 percent, above the 6 percent mark considered unsustainable. Italy's 10-year bond yield soared to 5.75 percent.
The U.S. dollar was steady near its 4-month high versus the euro. The euro was trading lower against the dollar at $1.2846 on Monday, as compared to $1.2920 late Friday. The euro scaled a high of $1.2904 intraday and a low of 1.2826.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, was trading higher at 80.587 on Monday, from 80.296 in North American trade late Friday. The dollar scaled a high of 80.69 intraday and a low of 80.36.
In economic news, eurozone industrial production declined unexpectedly in March, details from Eurostat showed. Industrial production fell 0.3 percent month-on-month in March, against economists' forecast for a 0.4 percent increase. This followed a 0.8 percent rise in February.
Germany's wholesale price inflation accelerated to 2.4 percent in April from 2.2 percent in March, the Federal Statistical Office said. Economists had forecast an increase to 2.3 percent. The uptick may be attributed to higher wholesale prices of solid fuels and petroleum products.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.