Gold posts 7th monthly decline in 8 months

Gold for August delivery GCQ3 +0.13%  fell $19, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,393 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. Gold futures rose 1.5% Thursday to close at $1,412 an ounce.

Gold futures fell 5.4% in May, compared with the settlement of $1,472.10 for the most-active contract on April 30.

Friday’s decline in gold futures could have been partly due to profit taking after some strong U.S. economic data, said Vedant Mimani, lead portfolio manager of the Atyant Capital Global Opportunities Fund. But in the bigger picture, futures have been hovering around $1,400, he said.

“That’s been the line in the sand where the bulls and the bears are battling it out right now,” said Mimani.

Read more: www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-consolidates-above-1400-level-2013-05-30