BS: Gold Advances in New York as Investors Seek to Protect Wealth
By Nicholas Larkin and Glenys Sim
June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose for a second day in New York as investors bought the precious metal to protect their wealth amid financial market turbulence.
The metal cut its weekly loss on speculation Group of 20 leaders meeting this weekend will fail to agree on ways to tackle Europe’s debt crisis, while the cost of protecting Greece’s debt from default rose to a record. Bullion futures climbed to an all-time high of $1,266.50 an ounce on June 21.
“With European debt fears at the forefront again and U.S. rates set to remain low for some time, gold will likely gain further support,” said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London.
Gold futures for delivery in August added $6.30, or 0.5 percent, to $1,252.20 an ounce at 8:06 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices are down 0.5 percent this week. Gold for immediate delivery in London was 0.7 percent higher at $1,251.55.
Bullion rose to $1,242.50 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell output, from $1,236.25 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing.
Gold is up 14 percent this year as investors seek to protect their wealth against the crisis in Greece and other European nations struggling to repay debt. The Federal Reserve on June 23 retained a pledge to keep the benchmark interest rate at a record low for an “extended period” and signaled that European indebtedness may harm American growth.
G-20 Gathering
G-20 leaders will meet in Toronto tomorrow and June 27 to discuss policies aimed at addressing Europe’s crisis, spurring global growth and overhauling financial regulation. Credit- default swaps on Greece rose to an all-time high today, according to CMA DataVision. European equities slipped for a fourth day.
Ten of 19 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said bullion would rise next week. Four forecast lower prices and five were neutral. Prices declined for the first week in five as some investors sold the metal to lock in gains after the rally to a record.
“It’s normal to see consolidation after such a big move in prices,” Yang Shandan, a trader at Cinda Futures Co., said from Zhejiang today. “There are still many risks out there and gold’s safe-haven status will keep its uptrend intact. We’re still seeing a lot of investor interest in gold.”
Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, rose 3.04 metric tons to a record 1,316.18 tons yesterday, according to the company’s website. Global holdings of the metal by ETFs rose 6.6 tons to 2,058.6 tons yesterday, according to Bloomberg data from 10 providers.
Silver for September delivery in New York added 0.4 percent to $18.85 an ounce. Platinum for October delivery gained 0.4 percent to $1,574.20 an ounce. Palladium for September delivery rose 1.6 percent to $477.50 an ounce.
--Editors: John Deane, Alastair Reed.
To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net; Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.
