2020.02.2518:13:00UTC+00Gold Futures End Sharply Lower

Gold prices declined sharply on Tuesday, with traders trimming down some long positions despite lingering worries about global growth due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Gold futures for April ended down $26.60, or about 1.6%, at $1,650.00 an ounce.

On Monday, gold futures for April ended up $27.80, or 1.7%, at $1,676.60 an ounce.

Silver futures for March are down $0.685 at $18.191 an ounce, while Copper futures for March are up marginally at $2.5780 per pound.

In China, the number of new confirmed cases of virus rose by 508 on Monday, up from 409 cases a day earlier. The total number of cases in China is nearly 77,700.

Countries around the world have reportedly stepped up efforts to prevent a pandemic, with the U.S. pledging $2.5 billion to fight the disease.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said it has sent a mission to Italy to "support Italian authorities in understanding the situation," citing concerns with the outbreak.

Data released by the Conference Board on Tuesday showed consumer confidence in the U.S. improved slightly in the month of February.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index inched up to 130.7 in February from a downwardly revised 130.4 in January. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 132.5 from the 131.6 originally reported for the previous month.

The modest increase by the headline index came as the expectations index surged up to 107.8 in February from 101.4 in January.

On the other hand, the report said the present situation index tumbled to 165.1 in February from 173.9 in the previous month.