BLBG: Gold May Advance on Demand for Alternative to Weak Currencies
By Glenys Sim
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Gold, trading little changed, may climb for a second day as investors seek an alternative to declining currencies.
Bullion for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.2 percent to $1,115.50 an ounce, and traded at $1,113.40 by 2:04 p.m. in Singapore. Gold jumped to $1,118.38 an ounce yesterday, the highest in almost two weeks, capping a sixth quarterly gain.
The dollar dropped for a fourth day in five versus the currencies of six major trading partners including the euro and yen amid signs that Asian economies are leading the economic rebound. Gold, which tends to move inversely to the U.S. currency, slid 0.5 percent last month as the Dollar Index gained 0.5 percent.
“The gold price moved higher, with investor interest in gold stoked by the softer U.S. dollar against the euro,” David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in an e-mail today.
Manufacturing in China expanded at a faster pace in March, while confidence among Japan’s largest manufacturers rose for a fourth straight quarter, adding to signs a recovery in the global economy is underway.
Silver rose 0.4 percent to $17.5425 an ounce, platinum climbed 0.3 percent to $1,647.75 an ounce and palladium was unchanged at $480 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net