Market pulse for key metals and energy: Mangal Keshav

Gold futures declined, after rising by the most since November in the previous session, as funds continues to cut bullion holdings for better investment yields elsewhere.

Gold futures in Tokyo jumped almost 5% to near all time-highs, marking their sharpest daily rise since Sept'11, after the yen dropped to near 4-year lows on reports that the Bank of Japan would begin buying longer-dated bonds immediately to beat deflation.

Gold holdings of SPDR gold trust, the largest ETF backed by the precious metal, declined to 1,205.31 tons, as on April 5.
Silver holdings of ishares silver trust, the largest ETF backed by the metal, declined to 10,497.59 tons, as on April 5.

The Japanese yen has dropped to its lowest level since 2008 against the US dollar, after the central bank began the latest round of its stimulus program.

The US dollar bought 99.21 yen on Monday, up from a settlement around ¥97.33 on late Friday in North American trade and well above ¥92.89 when the Bank of Japan announced new easing steps on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, jumped to 82.752 from 82.449 on Friday.

China's Yuan fell against the US dollar on late Monday, as the central bank guided it weaker along with other Asian currencies to track the Japanese yen's recent sharp losses.

Copper & other metals recovered marginally on Monday, rebounding from previous week’s decline, as the euro gained ground against the dollar and a strike in Chile raised concerns over temporary supply constraints.

Copper futures for May delivery closed up by 0.8% at $3.371 on the COMEX division of the NYMEX.

Crude oil prices closed higher, lifted by gains in gasoline futures and strong selling of the spread between Brent crude and US crude.

Brent's premium to US West Texas Intermediate futures closed at $11.3 per barrel, after narrowing to just over $11 in afternoon trade, the lowest level since June.

Natural gas futures declined from a 20-month high on profit-booking, as warmer-than-normal temperatures arrived in key Mid-west and East Coast markets.