by Debarati Roy and Nicholas Larkin
Bloomberg.com
Gold declined to a two-week low as a stronger dollar curbed demand for the metal as an alternative investment.
The dollar gained as much as 0.6 percent against a basket of currencies amid concern that the outcome of French presidential elections will disrupt efforts to stem the region’s debt crisis. Euro-area services and manufacturing fell more than estimated in April, while data showed China’s production will contract for a sixth month, according to a Markit Economics and HSBC Holdings Plc.
“There is gloom and people want to move into cash,” Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “The production numbers out of China have depressed market sentiment.”
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