Gold falls by more than 1%

London (Reuters): Gold fell by more than 1% on Monday, marking its biggest tumble in over a month, after the market’s favoured French presidential candidate won the first round of the country’s election, easing concerns about a potential political shock.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron took a big step towards the French presidency on Sunday by winning the first round of voting, with the latest opinion polls showing him as strong favourite to beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the final run-off.

The news represented a defeat for anti-European Union forces on the right and left of French politics, sent European shares and the euro vaulting higher and sparked a sell-off in safe-haven bullion.

Spot gold was down 1.1% at $ 1,269.45 an ounce by 1359 GMT, having touched its lowest in nearly two weeks at $ 1,265.90. US gold futures were down 1.4% at $ 1,270.80. 

The dollar recovered somewhat from its steep overnight falls but was still down 1.3% against the euro and 1% against a basket of currencies, supporting dollar-priced gold by making it cheaper for non-US investors.