Gold falls 3.1% in July to close below $1,300

San Francisco  (July 31)   Gold retreated for a third straight day Thursday, closing out July below $1,300, as investors continued to cheer improving U.S. economic data and shun safe-haven assets.

Gold for August delivery  GCQ4 -0.74%  fell $13.60, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,281.30 an ounce for a 3.1% monthly drop in July. September silver  SIU4 -0.54%    shed 19 cents to $20.41 an ounce.

Gold extended its drop after the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 23,000 last week to 302,000, a week after falling to a 14-year low. The average of new claims over the past month fell below 300,000 since April 2006.
Gold futures appeared little swayed by a breakdown in talks between Argentina and bondholders that left the country teetering on the brink of its second default in 13 years. The lack of action suggests investors are confident the incident will be confined, wrote Chris Weston, analyst at IG Markets in London.

On the daily charts, support for gold remains at $1,290 an ounce, while overhead resistance is at $1,312, wrote Marshall.

Source: MarketWatch