Gold extends losing skid to nine, one day after falling to 5-yr low

One day after crashing more than 2.2% to fresh five-year lows, gold futures inched down on Tuesday for its ninth straight loss in spite of a retreating dollar.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery traded in a tight range between 1,098.30 and 1,108.60 before closing at 1,106.00, down 0.80 or 0.07% on the session. Gold futures are down approximately 8% since peaking above $1,200 an ounce in late-June.
On Monday, gold plunged more than 5% in a matter of minutes in early morning Asian trade when it fell below $1,120, triggering a fresh batch of sell orders. Over the weekend, the People's Bank of China tightened regulations on internet financing in further efforts to bolster its crashing equities markets. In recent weeks, Chinese investors have lost approximately $3 trillion in the stock market amid the slowest growth in the world's second-largest economy in over a decade.
The stimulus measures came hours after China released data on its gold holdings for the first time since 2009. While Chinese gold holdings surged about 60% to 1,658 metric tons over the six-year span, the figure still pales in comparison to the nation's increasing stockpile in foreign exchange reserves. Chinese gold reserves represent only 1.5% of its forex reserves, dampening optimism that the world's second-largest economy can provide a further boost to the global gold market.
China is the world's largest producer and second-largest consumer of gold behind India. On Tuesday, Au99.95% on the Shanghai Gold Exchange fell mildly by 2.1 yuan to 221.36 a kilogram.