CHICAGO, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed lower on Tuesday, following significant gains in the past four straight sessions amid concerns about global economic growth.

The most active gold contract for April delivery went down 9.40 dollars, or 0.6 percent, to settle at 1,570.10 dollars per ounce.

U.S. equities were higher amid upbeat remarks on the U.S. economy by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In a prepared speech to Congress, Powell said the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) believes that the current stance of monetary policy will support continued economic growth, a strong labor market, and inflation returning to the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective.

Buoyed by Powell's remarks, New York stock benchmarks rose further on Tuesday. When equities go up, gold usually falls due to declining appetite for safe-haven assets, such as gold.

As for other precious metals, March silver fell 18.8 cents, or 1.06 percent, to close at 17.597 dollars per ounce. April platinum rose 6.60 dollars, or 0.68 percent, to settle at 973.50 dollars per ounce.

Meanwhile, Chinese official comments about getting the ongoing coronavirus outbreak under control have offered additional confidence, offsetting concerns over the impact of the disease on world economy.

China's new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia outside Hubei Province, where the epicenter city of Wuhan is located, has been dropping for seven consecutive days, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).

Addressing a press conference Tuesday, He Qinghua, an NHC official, said the outbreak situation in provincial-level regions except Hubei has shown an overall downward trend since Feb. 3.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Tuesday that China is capable of minimizing the impact of the outbreak on its economy.

"We believe our economic fundamentals that support China's long-term growth will remain unchanged, and we are capable of minimizing the impact of the epidemic on the economy," he told an online press conference.

International institutions including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank noted that China has enough policy space to deal with the epidemic and China's efforts have effectively reduced the risks the world economy may be exposed to, the spokesman added. Enditem

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