Gold falls sharply to 1-month lows

Gold fell for fifth day in a row on Tuesday and hit a 1-month low, dragged down by a stronger dollar and improved risk sentiment.

Gold lost 1.7% to settle at $1,229.20 an ounce on Comex. Prices marked the lowest settlement since April 14.

Upbeat US housing data gave the dollar additional tailwinds during the American session. Sales of new homes jumped 16.6% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000, marking the fastest pace since January 2008 and beating expectations of 523,000.