RJ and Makay

Though in the offing for some time, it's still a shock to see a credit agency move toward downgrading U.S. debt. Today, Standard & Poor's (S&P) Ratings Services reduced its outlook on the U.S. to "negative," potentially setting the stage for a downgrade from triple-A status in the near future.

"More than two years after the beginning of the recent crisis, U.S. policymakers have still not agreed on how to reverse recent fiscal deterioration or address longer-term fiscal pressures," explains S&P credit analyst Nikola G. Swann. The chance of a U.S. downgrade within two years is at least one in three, Swann estimates.

Although gold has managed modest gains in the past couple days, last week's four-day losing streak was its longest since May. In that time, the yellow metal's price sank to a five-week low.

Meanwhile, the dollar rose to its highest level against the euro since September following reports the economy added jobs for a third straight month. "Investors are selling gold due to a stronger dollar,” says Peter Fertig, the owner of Quantitative Commodity Research Ltd. in Hainburg, Germany.