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Gold prices firmed on bargain hunting after briefly falling below the $1,800 level.
After falling in tandem with the Swiss franc in the last two days, losing almost $130, bullion regained its poise, rising 0.85 per cent at $1,831.99 a troy ounce in European morning trading on Thursday.
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The factors which supported the recent gold rally were still intact as was the yellow metal’s haven status, said analysts.
“Besides the persistent debt problems in eurozone countries and the threat of the US economy sliding into recession, interest rates are set to remain at a very low level for an extended period,” said Commerzbank.
The market was awaiting policy meetings from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank and the press conference given by ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet. Also, speeches by President Barack Obama, who will lay out his job-creation proposals, and Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, on the US economy were keenly awaited.
Crude oil prices fell back slightly after rising in New York on storm-related concerns and inventory figures. About 37 per cent of US oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been closed down following tropical storm Lee. Meanwhile, Wednesday’s weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that crude oil inventories fell by 3m barrels last week, compared to a consensus forecast of 1.9m barrels.
ICE Brent crude eased $0.28 to $115.52 while Nymex West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, was trading marginally lower, down $0.02 at $89.32.
Industrial metals lost marginal ground, with copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange falling 0.06 per cent to $9,090 a tonne while aluminium retreated 0.07 per cent to $2,403.25 a tonne.
