By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Gold futures edged higher in Wednesday afternoon trade in East Asia, putting the metal on track for its second straight day of gains.
Comex gold for August delivery GCQ2 +0.22% rose 90 U.S. cents or 0.1%. to $1,581.30 an ounce.
In the regular U.S. session Thursday, gold marked it first rise in four sessions, packing on $9.60 to settle at $1,580.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Credit Agricole CIB strategists said gold had benefitted along with other commodities Thursday amid improved risk appetite after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments earlier in the week rekindled hope for additional monetary stimulus.
The French bank said attention Friday was shifting to talks among euro-zone ministers on the Spanish banking bailout, slated for later in the global trading day, given the dearth of important economic releases in Asia.
“The devil will be in the details, though, and two specific issues will need to be clarified on top of the several conditions attached to the program,” Credit Agricole said in a note, referring to the upcoming conference call following German’s parliamentary backing for the 100 billion euro ($122.6 billon) facility.
Among the main points, the bank’s analysts said the market will be looking for clarity on any direct bank recapitalizations, noting that German officials remain staunch in their position that Spain should be liable for aid extended through the stability mechanism.
In other precious metals trading, silver for September delivery SIU2 -0.01% eased 3 U.S. cents or 0.1% to $27.19 an ounce. In the regular U.S. session on Thursday, September silver was up 12 cents, or 0.5%, to finish at $27.22 an ounce.
Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.
