Spot gold             keeps losing ground on Monday, with the price extending loses to the critical $1,200 support. The yellow metal hit $1,210, the lowest level since March 2017, which is the last line of defense ahead of the key $1,200 support. A break below this level will open the way to fresh long-term lows and will mark a new bearish phase for the market.

As the US-China trade jitters showed, gold             has really lost its appeal as a safe-haven asset as the risk-off sentiment fuels USD demand instead. The same is in the case with the Turkish crisis that came into focus amid a dramatic decline in the Lira. Considering the changing status of the precious metal, there is a risk of further drop, despite the record net short positioning points to a risk for an upside reversal.

As such, a challenge of the mentioned psychological support will open the bearish road to $1,997. This is the intermediate support on the way to $1,190. On the other hand, should the $1,200 figure remains intact, the metal could try to regain the $1,215 area.