Gold slips

Bengaluru

Gold fell nearly one percent on Monday to its weakest in two weeks after centrist Macron led the first round of voting in the French presidential election, boosting stocks and triggering a sell-off of safe-haven bullion.

Spot gold was down 0.9 percent to $1,273.15 per ounce by 0057 GMT.

Bullion prices touched a low of $1,265.90 earlier in the session, the lowest since April 11. U.S. gold futures were down 1.1 percent at $1,274.70 an ounce.

Centrist Emmanuel Macron took a big step towards the French presidency on Sunday by winning the first round of voting and qualifying for a May 7 runoff alongside far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

The outcome lessens the risk of an anti-establishment shock on the scale of Britain´s vote to quit the European Union, with Macron widely tipped to win the final vote and keep France in the union.