25.04.201723:30:00UTC+00Gold Falls to 2-Week Lows on Recent Equities Rally

Gold prices dropped to a two-week low following a near one percent slip in the previous session as heightened investor appetite for risk fueled equities led to reduced demand for safe haven assets.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent to $1,261.36 an ounce. Prices reached a low of 1,260.90 earlier in the session, the lowest since April 11. Bullion dropped 0.9 percent the previous day, the largest one-day drop since early March. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3 percent lower at $1,262.90 per ounce.

Goldman Sachs stated in a note that it continues to expect gold to come under pressure in the near term on a potential rally in real interest rates after U.S. President Donald Trump unveils his tax policies. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, dropped 0.69 percent to 854.25 tonnes.

China's net-gold imports through main conduit Hong Kong has more than doubled month-on-month in March, according to latest data. Barrick Gold has disclosed details on its $500 million worth of developments and expansion that it is planning at the Veladero mine in Argentina over the next five years.