LONDON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Gold rapidly pared gains and fell by nearly 1 percent on Tuesday after rising investor risk aversion battered equities, commodities and higher-yielding currencies to the benefit of the dollar and U.S. Treasuries.
The spot gold price fell by as much as 0.96 percent to a session low of $1,640.55 an ounce, breaking through the 100-day moving average at $1,646.43 to later trade down 0.7 percnet on the day at $1,645.69 by 1154 GMT, echoing an abrupt slide in the price of crude oil and in platinum , which dropped by as much as 2.0 percent to a fresh one-year low of $1,466.80 an ounce.
European equities slid broadly , under pressure from gathering concern in the investment community about the exposure of banks in the region to Greece, which is battling to avoid defaulting on its debt obligations and to secure a second multi-billion euro bailout.
Gold earlier rose by as much as 1.3 percent, driven by these same factors. But in recent weeks, bullion has tended to come under pressure from heightened nervousness among investors, who flock into the comparative safety of the dollar, which rose by 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies. (Reporting by Amanda Cooper)