BLBG: Gold Gains for First Day in Three as Dollar Drop Drives Demand
Gold gained for the first day in three, as a weaker dollar fueled demand for a store of value and alternative investment.
The dollar traded near a three-week low against the euro before a German report today that may show retail sales in Europe’s largest economy rebounded in March. Bullion, denominated in dollars, tends to rise when the dollar falls as it becomes cheaper for holders of other currencies.
“Gold is being influenced interchangeably by the dollar and equities,” Yide Futures Brokerage Co. analyst Yang Zhenqiang said from Tianjin today. “It’s still trading within a tight, narrow range and may take both dollar and equity weakness to drive it over $900.”
Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.6 percent to $891.85 an ounce, and was at $891.32 at 10:27 a.m. in Singapore, after capping its steepest weekly decline in a month.
Nineteen of 32 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News, or 59 percent, said gold would climb this week on speculation the dollar will weaken after the Federal Reserve said it will continue buying back U.S. government debt. Six people forecast lower prices, and seven were neutral.
The dollar traded at $1.33 per euro from $1.3273 in New York on May 1, after reaching $1.3386 on April 30, the weakest since April 13. It was at 99.33 yen from 99.11.
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, have been unchanged at 1,104.45 metric tons since April 23.
Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver gained 0.2 percent to $12.55 an ounce, platinum was down 0.3 percent at $1,089.5 an ounce, and palladium dropped 1.9 percent to $212.5 an ounce at 10:32 a.m. in Singapore.