By Barani Krishnan

-- Gold moved further from the $2,000 target aspired by longs in the market as assurances over the crisis-struck U.S. banking sector boosted the appetite for risk assets, resulting in reduced demand for safe havens.

settled at $1,953.80 per ounce on New York’s Comex, down $30, or 1.5%, on the day. The benchmark gold futures contract hit a session high of 2,023.90 in Friday’s trade, closing all of last week up for a fourth week in a row, delivering a net gain of more than 9% over the stretch to longs in the game.

The , more closely followed than futures by some traders, was at $1,952.43 by 13:50 ET (17:50 GMT), down $26.18, or 1.3% on the day. Spot gold reached as high as $2,003.19 on Friday.

“Gold prices are slipping amid and an improvement in risk appetite,” said Craig Erlam, analyst at online trading platform OANDA.

“If turbulence in the banks subsides, we could see gold give back some of its recent gains and from a technical perspective, the two failed runs at $2,000 has left us with a possible double top forming, with the neckline around $1,935.”

On the banking front, First Citizens BancShares Inc (NASDAQ:) said it will acquire the deposits and loans of failed Silicon Valley Bank, closing one chapter in the crisis of confidence that has ripped through financial markets.

The Federal Reserve’s Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said the central bank will be “fully accountable” for any supervisory or regulatory failures involving Silicon Valley Bank, which was the first to fall among U.S. banks two weeks ago, triggering a domino effect.

Barr, who is due to testify before U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday, however, admitted in a pre-testimony speech released Monday that “contagion from SVB's failure could be far-reaching and cause damage to the broader banking system.”