Gold falls but stays in tight range.

GOLD dipped today to near six-week lows as stabilising equities and currency markets had fewer investors seeking solace in gold.
The most actively traded contract, for August delivery, fell $US2.80, or 0.2 per cent, to $US1196.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Since falling almost 3 per cent at the end of last week, the August contract has traded in a narrow range, staying within $US15 an ounce of the $US1200 an ounce mark.
"There's a lack of interest in gold," said Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading in Chicago. "At the moment, I think we've lost the fear trade."
Gold was propelled to record highs in May and June as traders sought to hedge against the potential fallout from the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis.
But traders who had invested in gold to protect against weakness in European economies may be rethinking those bets as the euro strengthens, analysts said. Some invest in gold as an alternative currency, buying during times of weakness in the main reserve currencies.
"As the euro has rallied, people have taken money out of gold," said Caesar Bryan, portfolio manager of GAMCO's Gold Fund.
The euro hit two-month highs against the US dollar overnight.
US equities also rose, building on the previous session's gains after reports that fewer people than expected applied for unemployment benefits last week and some June retail sales figures came in strong.
Comex September silver futures followed gold lower, falling US12.8 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $US17.872 an ounce.
Nymex platinum group metals futures were split today, with palladium rising for a third consecutive day while platinum declined slightly.
September palladium rose $US2.05, or 0.5 per cent, to $US444.40 an ounce. October platinum settled down $US10, or 0.7 per cent, at $US1516.40 an ounce.