BLBG: Gold, Little Changed in London, May Drop as Equities Strengthen
Gold, little changed in London today, may decline for a third day as a rally in equities curbs the precious metal’s appeal as an alternative investment.
The MSCI World Index of shares climbed 0.6 percent as earnings at companies including Siemens AG and Royal Dutch Shell Plc showed profits are weathering the worst of the global recession. Bullion dropped 1.5 percent yesterday on concern the swine-flu outbreak, confirmed in at least seven countries, will reduce demand for metals.
“Nothing seems to be able to push the stock market down despite the negative news over the last few days,” said Jesper Dannesboe, a senior commodity strategist at Societe Generale in London. “If I had to buy or sell gold, I’d sell.”
Bullion for immediate delivery added $1.84 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $895.22 an ounce by 9:14 a.m. local time, after earlier falling as much as 0.6 percent. June futures rose 0.3 percent to $895.90 an ounce in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division.
Investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, was unchanged at 1,104.45 metric tons for a fourth day yesterday, according to the company’s Web site.
Among other metals for immediate delivery in London, silver added 0.3 percent to $12.52 an ounce. Platinum lost 0.2 percent to $1,091.50 an ounce, and palladium was 0.1 percent higher at $216.75 an ounce.
