Investors’ interest in gold-focused exchange traded funds (ETFs) has remained solid, while analysts are calling the sentiment bullish with gold coming out ahead of the rest.

However, the dollar showed some signs of life yesterday, sending gold in the rare for these days downward direction. Gold for April delivery ended the day at $971.80, reports Polya Lesova for MarketWatch.

One analyst feels that gold has lost some momentum and needs to consolidate before it can make a serious run at $1,000 an ounce.

Platinum and silver have fallen back slightly, too. Silver futures closed at $19.79 an ounce, while platinum futures closed at $2039.10 an ounce.

Yesterday, the precious-metal focused ETFs finished down:

• iShares Silver Trust (SLV), down 2.82% today, up 36.4% year-to-date
• streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD), down 0.23% today, up 16.6% year-to-date
• iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU), down 0.19% today, up 16.7% year-to-date

Tags: GLD, IAU, Metals & Mining, Platinum, Silver