NEW YORK (Scrap Register): Gold may well face selling pressure on any attempt to reclaim $1,300 an ounce and also could run into selling pressure that pushes it down toward $1,250, said Samuel Laughlin, senior trader with MKS (Switzerland) S.A.

Gold began Asia-Pacific trade by giving back some of the late-day gains from Friday as the euro fell below $1.1750 following a bearish close underneath its 55-week moving average last week, Laughlin pointed out.

“We continue to see layered offers extending toward $1,300 and this is likely to cap any top-side movement while the dollar remains buoyant, and recent price action suggests we may see an extension toward $1,250,” he added.

The most active June gold contract on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 40 cents to $1,290.90 an ounce on Monday. It had traded as low as $1,281.20, the lowest intraday level since December of last year.

Gold futures settled lower on Monday, after touching their lowest intraday levels of the year, as the U.S. dollar pared earlier gains on easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China.