Shares of major miners also fell in London trading, with BHP down 2.4%, Rio Tinto down 3.6%, Glencore -2.44%, and Antofagasta -1.25%.

While gold may extend gains near term, fundamentally, the pendulum swings in favour of bears, says analyst.

Alternative financing options could generate $800 billion for miners over the next ten years, according to McKinsey.

Gold could fall further towards $1,660 with yields potentially moving higher, says a TD analyst.

A Tesla subsidiary registered as Gambit Energy Storage LLC is quietly building a more than 100 megawatt energy storage project in Angleton, Texas.

The London Metal Exchange, the world's biggest industrial metals market, has rejected calls to create a separate contract for low-carbon aluminum and instead plans to create a digital register this year.

During several days of brutal cold in Texas, the city of Austin saw its fleet of 12 new electric buses rendered inoperative by a statewide power outage.

Gold has in little over two months gone from being a favored reflation bet to heading for its worst first quarter in almost four decades.