Moderate losses for bullions

Gold hits a 3.5 month low

Gold prices ended the U.S. day session moderately lower on Tuesday, 10 March 2015 and hit a 3.5-month low. Sharp gains in the U.S. dollar index, which hit a 12-year high, and lower crude oil prices were bearish outside market forces working against the precious metals on Tuesday.

Concerns over the prospects of rising U.S. interest rates pushed the dollar to multiyear highs, weighing on dollar-denominated commodities, which include gold.

Gold for April delivery lost $6.40, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,160.10 an ounce on Comex.

May silver also fell 14.3 cents, or 0.9%, to end at $15.633 an ounce.

On Monday, Greece's financial woes had helped to lift gold into positive territory for the first time this month. The advance put an end to a five-session losing streak that had sent prices 4% lower.

The sell-off in the U.S. stock market did mitigate some of the selling pressure in the gold market on Tuesday, as it was a keener risk-off day in the market place.

The Euro currency was sharply lower and hit an 11-year low on Tuesday. The Japanese yen hit a seven-year low against the U.S. dollar. The surging greenback has been a major bearish factor for most raw commodity markets, which are priced in U.S. dollars on the world markets.

European bond yields are hovering at or near record lows this week, as the European Central Bank's big bond-buying program (quantitative easing, or QE) kicks in. Many look for the Euro currency to fall to parity with the U.S. dollar in the not-too-distant future.

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