Gold’s losses deepen to USD1,181, on pace for 30% annual loss

Investing.com - Gold’s losses deepened to hit the lowest level since June on Tuesday, as bearish sentiment on the precious metal remained intact, while silver prices plunged nearly 4%.Trading volumes are expected to remain light as many investors already closed books before the end of the year, reducing liquidity in the market and increasing volatility, which helped exaggerate market moves.On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,185.50 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, down 1.5%. Gold prices fell by as much as 1.8% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD1,181.90 a troy ounce, the weakest level since June 28.Futures were likely to find near-term support at USD1,180.30 a troy ounce, the low from June 28 and resistance at USD1,213.60, the high from December 30. The February contract settled down 0.84% on Monday to end at USD1,203.80 a troy ounce.Gold is down approximately 30% this year, on track for its first yearly loss in 13 years and the worst since 1981, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Federal Reserve will begin curbing stimulus.Meanwhile, silver for March delivery dropped by as much as 4.1% earlier in the session to hit a session low of USD18.81 a troy ounce, before coming off the lows to trade at USD18.90, down 3.6%. Comex silver prices lost nearly 38% this year.Market players looked ahead to U.S. data on consumer confidence and manufacturing activity in the Chicago region later in the day, to gauge if the U.S. economy will be strong enough to allow the Fed to continue withdrawing support through 2014. The U.S. central bank will reduce its bond-buying stimulus program by USD10 billion a month starting in January.Some market participants believe the Fed will likely taper its bond purchases by USD10 billion in each of its next seven meetings before ending the program in December 2014, amid indications of an improving U.S. economy.Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery dipped 0.3% to trade at USD3.371 a pound.Copper prices have been well-supported in recent weeks amid indications the U.S. economic recovery is deepening. The U.S. is second behind China in global copper demand.Prices of the industrial metal are on track to post a gain of nearly 4% in December, but are still approximately 8% lower in the year to date.