By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — Gold futures eased in electronic trading Wednesday, in a mixed session for the broader metals complex.
Gold for June delivery GCM2 -0.08% shed 60 cents to trade at $1,660.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during European trading hours.
That move places the metal on track to snap a three-session winning streak.
Recent gains were spurred by safe-haven interest after last week’s softer U.S. jobs report and a recent rise in Spanish and Italian borrowing costs worried investors about the health of the global economy. But those concerns eased somewhat Wednesday as bond yields for the two countries pulled back from highs and as European stock markets regained some traction.
HSBC analyst Jim Steel argued a shift in focus back to euro-zone debt concerns and a rise in risk aversion are “potentially negative for gold unless bullion becomes more sought-after as a safe haven.”
“Increases in euro-zone debt concerns have triggered capital flows into U.S. Treasurys, which in turn boosted the U.S. dollar and weighed on gold. It also weakens other commodities, such as oil, which tend to have a positive price relationship with gold,” Steel wrote in a research note.
However, Steel conceded that it may be the yellow metal’s “decoupling from risk assets and resuming its more traditional role of safe haven.”
The broader metals complex diverged during Asia trading hours, with silver and platinum tracking gold lower.
Silver for May delivery SIK2 -0.03% lost 2 cents to $31.66 an ounce.
July platinum PLN2 +0.15% rose $1.60 to $1,595.30 an ounce, while palladium for June delivery PAM2 -0.06% added 60 cents to $637.45 an ounce.
May copper HGK2 -0.08% was flat at $3.65 a pound.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
