02.02.202119:03:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Notably Lower As Silver Plunges

Gold futures drifted lower on Tuesday, as Silver prices took a beating after scoring hefty gains a session earlier.

As retail trading frenzy subsided a bit, silver prices tumbled, losing more than 10% today, after having gained about 9.3% on Monday to post its highest close in almost seven years.

Hectic buying in equities in global markets amid rising optimism about additional U.S. stimulus and the vaccination program picking up momentum dimmed the demand for the safe-haven yellow metal.

The dollar's strength contributed as well to gold's decline. The dollar index rose to 91.29 around mid morning, and despite paring some gains subsequently, was still fairly well up in positive territory at 91.19, up 0.22% from previous close.

Gold futures for April ended the session with a loss of $30.50 or about 1.6% at $1,833.40 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended down $3.016 at $26.402 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.5245 per pound, down $0.0215 from previous close.

Vaccination drives picked up pace across the world, with millions having already received their doses.

Everyone in Germany should have been offered a coronavirus vaccine by the end of September, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday.

Meanwhile, the number of new coronavirus cases globally has fallen for the third week in a row, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Monday. However, it urged countries not to let up efforts to defeat the disease.