MW: Gold edges higher, boosted by recovery worries
By April H. Lee, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold inched higher in its seventh consecutive daily gain Thursday, buoyed by physical buying after China's decision to expand its market for the metal, while weak U.S. jobs data added to gold's safe-haven appeal.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, rose $2.40, or 0.2%, to $1,198.30 an ounce. It earlier touched $1,202.80.
Boosting demand for gold early in the week, China announced Tuesday that it will allow more commercial banks to import and export gold as well as to participate in trading at the Shanghai Gold Exchange in order to broaden its gold market.
Physical demand also rose in anticipation of India's wedding season, starting later this month, as jewelers are expected to snap up the metal at bargain prices ahead of the festivities.
"However, as prices have gained momentum, that interest has started to retreat," said analysts at Barclays Capital in a note Thursday. "Now the baton will need to be passed over to investment demand to drive gold prices."
Although Barclays analysts said that longer-term investor interest has softened recently, they forecast that gold will regain its upward momentum later in the year, with prices averaging $1,260 in the fourth quarter.
Potentially adding to the metal's safe-haven appeal, U.S. jobless-claims data released Thursday showed that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits jumped by 19,000 to 479,000 last week -- the highest level since April. Read more about jobs data.
