Gold futures head lower Tuesday morning, putting the precious metal on track for a second drop in a row as government bond yields and the US. dollar rose, pressuring precious metals that have mostly gained in the month and quarter against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

June gold on Comex was off $21.50, or 1.3%, at $1,621.87 an ounce, after falling 0.7% on Monday. For the month, gold has advanced 3.5% thus far, and is on pace for a return for the first quarter, which ends on Tuesday, of 6.5%, according to FactSet data.

Trading for precious metals has been marked by concerns about the rapidly moving infection, COVID-19, which was first identified in Wuhan, China in December, but has infected more than 800,000 people and claimed nearly 39,000 lives world-wide, as of Tuesday morning, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

Source : Market Watch