Gold price dips as German election result knocks euro

London (Sept 25)  Gold eased on Monday as the prospect of a fractured parliament in Germany following Chancellor Angela Merkel's less than resounding election victory over the weekend knocked the euro lower.

Consequent dollar strength helped push gold back towards Thursday's low of $1,287.61 an ounce, its weakest since Aug. 25,
which fed into a second straight weekly decline for the metal.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,294.46 an ounce at 1145 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were 40 cents an ounce lower at $1,297.10.

Gold has now slipped nearly 5 percent from the more than one-year high it hit on Sept. 8, largely on the back of concerns over North Korea's nuclear ambitions, which have now waned.

"If the dollar continues to rally and North Korea staysquiet, gold can continue to fall," David Govett, head of
precious metals at Marex Spectron, said. "But all it will take
is one missile launch or similar, and we will rally back up
above $1,300 again."
    The euro slid 0.7 percent against the dollar and southern
European government bonds sold off after the German election
result sparked fears of a more hardline stance towards the euro
zone in the bloc's largest economy.               
    Weakened by a surge in support for the far right, Germany's
Merkel will have to sound out partners to build a coalition
government after securing a fourth term as chancellor in
Sunday's election.            
    Gold has also come under pressure from rising expectations
that the Federal Reserve will lift U.S. interest rates once more
this year, and start trimming the $4.5 trillion in bonds and
other assets it built up following the 2008 financial crisis.
    "The U.S. Federal Reserve started its balance sheet
reduction last week as well as still pricing in a one-time rate
hike by year-end," OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan said. "This still
has a strong influence in pushing gold prices lower."
    Physical gold demand remained soft in the major Asian
markets last week despite lower prices, as consumers awaited
further dips, while a government move to bring transparency to
bullion trading kept buyers on the sidelines in India.        
    Silver was 0.2 percent lower at $16.90 an ounce,
after falling more than 3.5 percent last week in the biggest
weekly decline since early July.
    Platinum was up 0.2 percent at $932.50 an ounce, off
an eight-week low hit on Thursday, while palladium        was
0.5 percent higher at $912 an ounce.