MY: Gold edges towards record on economy, security fears
Gold edged up on Monday toward last week's record high, buoyed by a dip in the dollar in Asian trading, worries about the global economy and U.S. comments that Iran has enough fissile material for two atomic bombs.
But a lack of consumer demand, including the prospect of a sharp contraction in demand from India, the world's largest gold consumer, might mean prices could push lower in the near term.
"I think it needs to correct," said Simon Weeks, head of precious metals at the Bank of Nova Scotia. "The weaker dollar and weaker sentiment is probably more positive than negative. But markets are already pretty long, and quite frankly there is no huge amount of fresh demand around. So on that basis, I'm slightly surprised that we are as high as we are," he said.
Spot gold rose $2.20 to $1,255.60 an ounce by 1152 GMT, having hit an all time high of $1,264.90 an ounce last Monday.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery rose 30 cents to $1,256.50 an ounce.
Weeks said he saw gold prices moving back through $1,230 towards $1,200 an ounce from current levels.
The dollar was holding roughly steady against a basket of six major currencies but is still hovering around its lowest level in six weeks as concerns about the pace of U.S. recovery persisted and after data showed speculators had cut back their bets on the greenback last week.