Gold Erases Gains as Fear Returns to Markets

Gold was rallying on the first trading day of this year, extending its advance to three consecutive sessions. Yet it completely failed on the second day, wiping out the whole rally. Traders were bullish at first as it looked like the threat of the fiscal cliff has gone away, but then they quickly turned their attention to the problem with the debt ceiling. Fear returned to the market and sent the precious metal down. [...]