LONDON: Gold fell on Tuesday, hit by a sell-off in financial markets and a drop in the euro against the dollar, with persistent doubts about Europe's ability to tackle its growing debt crisis prompting investors to remain cautious. Although gold is supported by its safe-haven allure, it is prone to spillover from any sell-off in the wider financial market as sentiment remains fragile. Spot gold fell 1 percent to $1,762.30 an ounce at 1126 GMT from $1,779.89 late in New York on Monday. Italian bond yields rose back above 7 percent and even non-German triple-A rated issuers saw premiums over safe haven Bunds mark new highs, underscoring the challenges facing Europe in containing its debt crisis. Reflecting caution in the market, European shares and base metals fell while the euro slipped against the dollar. A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the US unit more expensive for holders of other currencies. "Recently gold has been lacking its safe haven qualities and it has been performing in line with other risk assets," Eugen Weinberg, head of research at Commerzbank said. "But in the longer-term it would make sense to look at gold as a hedge against inflation and financial market risks, and as an alternative currency." In Italy, Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti will meet the leaders of Italy's biggest two parties to discuss the "many sacrifices" needed to reverse a collapse in market confidence. A failure by Italy, the euro zone's third-largest economy, to fix its debt problems would have a far bigger impact on the region than difficulties in Greece. The 17-nation euro zone economy grew a modest 0.2 percent in the third quarter from the second, the EU said on Tuesday, lifted by France and Germany, but slowing export growth and stagnating consumer demand point to a likely contraction soon. US gold fell 0. 8 percent to $1,76 3.80 an ounce. Gold hit a record around $1,920 in September on worries about a growing debt crisis in Europe and is trading more than 24 percent higher in the year to date. "It is most likely that bullion would continue in dull trading here with players squaring their book before year-end," VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said in a note. "We can only see very moderate gains should the broader market push higher, while much would still depend on where the EURUSD heads in the next month." Hedge fund manager and long-time gold bull John Paulson slashed his bullion holdings by a third in the third quarter, data showed, cutting holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust to 20.3 million shares from 31.5 million at the end of the second quarter. SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, reported the first dip in its holdings in more than two weeks on Monday — a fall of 0.388 tons from the previous session to 1,268.278 tons. Money managers, including hedge funds and other large speculators, increased their bullish bets in gold futures and options during the week of Nov. 8, as the price of bullion rallied to a seven-week high above $1,800 an ounce, data showed. In other precious metals, silver slipped 0. 8 percent to $33.96 an ounce, while platinum fell 1.1 percent to $1,6 19.24 an ounce and palladium fell 0.7 percent to $65 4.97 an ounce.
