Gold down for 4th trading day on stronger U.S. equities

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell for its 4th day on Monday as U.S. equities strengthened.

The most active gold contract for June delivery fell 1.40 U.S. dollars, or 0.11 percent, to settle at 1,251.50 dollars per ounce.

Gold was put under pressure as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 37 points, or 0.21 percent as of 18:50 GMT. Analysts noted that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, echoed that a relatively tight labor market in the United States may put upward pressure on inflation, supporting the case for higher interest rates.

Also on Monday, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said that two-to-three rate hikes this year were reasonable and that inflation was on track to meet the Fed's goal of 2 percent in the next year or two, according to media reports.

Analysts noted that the two officials' remarks boosted expectations that the Fed could raise interest rates in June, extending pressure on gold futures on Monday.

According to the CMEGroup' s Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to 0.75 is at 30 percent for the June meeting.

Traders are waiting for the new home sales report due on Tuesday, along with international trade in goods on Wednesday, durable goods and weekly jobless claims on Thursday, and the U.S. gross domestic product report on Friday.

Silver for July delivery fell 10.90 cents, or 0.66 percent, to close at 16.423 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery dropped 10.20 dollars, or 1.00 percent, to close at 1,013.10 dollars per ounce. Enditem