Gold rises but near-term sentiment bearish

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold edged higher in New York afternoon trade on Monday after hitting a two-month low last week, but traders said sentiment has turned bearish, pressuring the precious metal in the short term.
Gold fell as low as $657.30 an ounce before rising to $662.30/663.80 at 3:27 p.m. EDT (1927 GMT), up from $660.90/662.40 late on Friday, when prices fell as low as $655.50.
Most-active gold for June delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled up $1.80 at $663.80 an ounce, after trading between $657.50 and
$664.60.
"We have got a few important data points coming out late this week, especially in the euro-zone, and I can imagine that until then we are going to stay in a relatively quiet market," said Michael Widmer, director of metals research at Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank.
"Although I am still bullish for the full year, we are now moving out into the summer months and gold is generally not that strong during the period."
Spot gold on Thursday tumbled as low as $653.40, its weakest since March 20, but that fall stimulated physical interest and fund buying on Friday.
"The only reason why we see a bit of profit-taking here is on the back of the euro/dollar. The market is very quiet, but we expect it to find some support around $660 or slightly below," said Frederic Panizzutti, metals analyst at MKS Finance.