1st LD Writethru: Gold down on technical trading

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Tuesday as technical trading put pressure on the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for February delivery fell 1.8 U.S. dollars, or 0.17 percent, to settle at 1,063.50 dollars per ounce.

Gold fell on Tuesday as the market moved to correct a technical bounce which caused gold to rise beyond efficient market prices on Monday. The correction put pressure on the precious metal despite worse-than-expected U.S. data and a fall in the U.S. dollar.

The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, fell by 0.41 to 99.79 as of 18:35 GMT. A weaker greenback will boost the appeal of dollar-denominated gold to investors holding other currencies.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index fell by 1.5 to 48.6 in November. The figure, which is worse than expected, dampened gold further.

Traders were also hedging their bets on Tuesday as the European Central Bank is scheduled to meet later this week.

Analysts believed that ECB head Mario Draghi is likely to announce additional economic stimulus to the eurozone, which would weaken the euro against the dollar, also bearish for the precious metal.

Silver for March delivery fell 0.3 cents, or 0.02 percent, to close at 14.083 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery added 2.5 dollars, or 0.30 percent, to close at 835.40 dollars per ounce. Endit