SF; Gold May Decline on Climb to Seven-Week High, Stronger Dollar
Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may decline in London as a stronger dollar cuts investment demand and as prices near a seven-week high curb physical purchases.
The dollar climbed to a five-week high against the euro after European Central Bank council member Axel Weber said the ECB should keep stimulus measures in place through the end of the year. Bullion usually moves inversely to the greenback. Gold reached $1,237.50 an ounce yesterday, the highest level since July 1, and is trading 2.8 percent below a record.
"The slightly stronger dollar is weighing on gold," said Walter de Wet, an analyst at Standard Bank Plc in London. "With gold at these prices above $1,220 an ounce, demand is slowing quite a bit" from physical buyers, he said.
Immediate-delivery bullion lost as much as $4.15, or 0.3 percent, to $1,228 an ounce and traded at $1,229.43 at 12:28 p.m. in London. The metal for December delivery was 0.3 percent lower at $1,231.20 on the Comex in New York.
