BLBG: Gold Falls From Three-Month High as Investors Sell After Rally
Gold fell for the first time in four sessions in London as some investors sold the precious metal following a rally to a three-month high.
Bullion had gained on speculation that government spending will spur inflation and purchases by investors concerned about a worsening global economy. Gold holdings in exchange-traded funds including the SPDR Gold Trust and Zuercher Kantonalbank’s ETF have risen to records.
“People are trying to take profit before it disappears,” Bernard Sin, currency and metals trading chief at Swiss refiner MKS Finance SA, said by phone from Geneva today. “ETFs have put on large positions the past week” as investors bought gold as a haven, he said.
Gold for immediate delivery lost as much as $10.40, or 1.2 percent, to $892.95 an ounce and traded at $894.27 at 9:50 a.m. local time. February futures fell $15.20, or 1.7 percent, to $893.60 in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, rose to a record 832.9 metric tons, according to data on the company’s Web site. That was the smallest increase in the past five days the fund has recorded holdings.
Imports of gold to India, the world’s biggest buyer of the precious metal, have dropped as record prices in the country prompt consumers to recycle more old jewelry, Bombay Bullion Association Ltd. said. Imports slipped to between 1.8 tons and 2 tons this month from 24 tons a year ago, it said.
Among other metals for immediate delivery in London, silver declined 0.6 percent to $12 an ounce. Platinum slipped $10.25, or 1.1 percent, to $951.75 an ounce, and palladium was 0.1 percent lower at $191 an ounce.
