Gold futures decline on Janet Yellen’s comments on US economy

Gold futures declined on Wednesday as generally upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on the US economy helped dull safe-haven demand for the metal. Further, investors focused on news of fresh talks between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the deadly conflict in eastern Ukraine after the Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Ukrainian separatists to postpone a referendum and said he was pulling troops back from their common border, also weighing on the gold price. Gold futures for June delivery settled down $19.70 at $1,288.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. While spot gold fell 1.4 percent at $1,289.39 an ounce