BLBG: Gold Little Changed Near Six-Week High as Investors Await Data
Gold traded little changed in Asia amid a gain in the dollar and a drop in global equities ahead of further U.S. economic data.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against six major trading partners, increased for a third day this week, while global stocks slid as U.S. April retail sales fell 0.4 percent, compared with economists’ expectations for no change. A drop in crude oil also capped bullion’s gains.
“Gold’s a safety mechanism and it’s also an anti-inflation mechanism, so you get two for the price of one,” Joseph Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading LLC, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Some people will claim there’s no value to it but so what, it does what it’s supposed to do.”
Gold for immediate delivery was at $924.40 an ounce at 1:52 p.m. in Singapore. The metal rose to $930.90 an ounce yesterday, the highest since April 1. Gold for June delivery in New York was also little changed at $924.80.
Gold holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, increased for the first time since April 9 yesterday to 1,105.62 metric tons, according to figures on the company’s Web site.
“I walk into the mall I see a lot of people not shopping; I see them walking around with no bags at all, that’s the real test,” said Saluzzi. Gold has “another 10 percent upside before some profit taking kicks in.”
The euro declined to the lowest level in almost a week against the dollar on speculation European Central Bank officials will today signal they plan to take further unconventional measures to keep down borrowing costs.
Jobless claims in the U.S. are forecast to have risen last week to 610,000 from 601,000 in the week ended May 2, according to the median projection of 38 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. The Labor Department will report the numbers today.
Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver was little changed at $13.99 an ounce, platinum fell 0.8 percent to $1,107.50 an ounce, and palladium climbed 1.1 percent to $223.75 an ounce as of 1:55 p.m. Singapore time.
