BLBG: Gold, Precious-Metals Drop on Concern Recession May Damp Demand
By Pham-Duy Nguyen
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Gold futures fell on speculation a global recession will damp demand for precious metals and other raw materials. Silver and platinum also declined.
Equities in Asia and Europe fell as U.S. stock futures headed lower. More than $28 trillion in value has been erased from global equity markets this year as banks have posted more than $920 billion in credit losses and writedowns. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials is down 28 percent this year.
``We're back to focusing on the recession,'' said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management in Evanston, Illinois. ``You're seeing a bear market in everything. Gold traditionally does better than anything else in this recessionary environment, but it still goes down.''
Gold futures for December delivery fell $12.60, or 1.7 percent, to $733.90 an ounce at 9:20 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal is down 29 percent from a record $1,033.90 in March.
Silver futures for December delivery fell 30 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $9.92 an ounce on the Comex. Platinum futures for January delivery fell $31.70, or 3.7 percent, to $828.20 an ounce on the Nymex. Palladium for December delivery rose 15 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $222.15 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net.