Gold falls as stocks gain after French election result

REUTERS - Gold fell nearly 1 percent on Monday to its weakest in two weeks after centrist Macron led the first round of voting in the French presidential election, boosting stocks and triggering a sell-off of safe-haven bullion.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was down 0.9 percent to $1,273.15 per ounce by 0057 GMT. Bullion prices touched a low of $1,265.90 earlier in the session, the lowest since April 11.

* U.S. gold futures were down 1.1 percent at $1,274.70 an ounce.

* Centrist Emmanuel Macron took a big step towards the French presidency on Sunday by winning the first round of voting and qualifying for a May 7 runoff alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

 

* The outcome lessens the risk of an anti-establishment shock on the scale of Britain's vote to quit the European Union, with Macron widely tipped to win the final vote and keep France in the union.

* The euro scaled five-month highs against the dollar in early Asian trading on relief at the result, while U.S. stock index futures rose sharply on Sunday.

* North Korea said on Sunday it was ready to sink a U.S. aircraft carrier to demonstrate its military might, in the latest sign of rising tension as U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to call the leaders of China and Japan.

* Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.52 percent to 858.69 tonnes on Friday.

* Barrick Gold Corp and its new Chinese partner presented a $500 million plan on Friday to make safety and environmental improvements to the Veladero gold mine in Argentina after a third cyanide spill in 18 months, a company executive said.

* Hedge funds and other money managers increased their net long position in COMEX gold for the fifth straight week to April 18, lifting it to a five-month high, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday.

(Reporting by Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)