BLBG:Gold Drops as Stronger Dollar Discourages Demand, Prompts Investor Selling
Gold dropped in London as a stronger dollar cut demand for an alternative asset and prompted investors to sell the metal after its climb to near a record.
The dollar rose to the highest level in almost six-months versus the euro on speculation the European Central Bank will cut interest rates amid slowing global growth and a deepening debt crisis. Gold, which typically moves inversely to the greenback, touched a record $1,921.15 an ounce on Sept. 6.
“The dollar is strengthening” and gold may have formed a so-called double top, which can be viewed as bearish, Jesper Dannesboe, an analyst at Societe Generale SA in London, said today by phone. “There are very good reasons why people long on gold may be taking profits.”
Immediate-delivery gold fell $28.77, or 1.5 percent, to $1,841.41 an ounce by 11:42 a.m. in London. Gold for December delivery was down 0.7 percent at $1,843.90 on the Comex in New York.
A double top refers to an M-shaped pricing pattern comprising the Aug. 23 high of $1,913.50 and the all-time high on Sept. 6, a sign for some investors who study technical charts that gold may fall.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.