Gold drops below 1,300 USD

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday dropped below 1,300 dollars per ounce as speculative investors kept withdrawing from gold.

The most active gold contract for June delivery dropped 5.2 dollars, or 0.4 percent, to settle at 1,298.3 dollars per ounce.

Speculative investors have cut their gold position to the lowest level in six weeks.

Market analysts hold that gold has been overplayed in recent weeks, and that's why gold has quickly turned to the downside in the post-Crimea correction.

Outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are also exerting pressure on gold. Data showed that ETFs reported gold outflows of 15.3 tons in the past week.

Silver for May delivery dipped 3.9 cents, or 0.2 percent, to close at 19.907 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery lost 23.1 dollars, or 1.59 percent, to close at 1,427.8 dollars per ounce.