By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures extended steep gains on Monday, after recording their biggest one-day advance since August in the previous session, amid investor risk-aversion and hopes for further monetary easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Gold for August delivery GCQ2 +0.24% rose $4.30 to $1,626.60 an ounce in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
On Friday, gold climbed $57.90, or 3.7%, to settle at $1,622.10 an ounce in New York trading.
That move marked the biggest single-session percentage and point gain for a most-active contract since August 2011, according FactSet data. Read more on Friday's gold move.
The surge for gold followed much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data and “immediately talk of more quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve began,” said Jonathan Robinson, strategist at Icap.
More monetary stimulus is widely expected to boost gold prices, as investors worried about currency debasement seek an alternative store of wealth.
Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney.
