BLBG:Gold Set To Extend Weekly Gain In London On Stimulus Speculation
Gold, trading near a three-week high, was set to gain for a fourth day in London on speculation central banks around the world will do more to spur growth.
Economists expect data today to show the U.S. economy expanded at the slowest pace in a year, increasing speculation the Federal Reserve will engage in a third round of quantitative easing. The dollar headed for a weekly drop versus the euro after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said policy makers will do whatever is needed to save the single currency.
“The weaker dollar, Draghi’s pledge to act and hopes that next week’s Fed meeting could swing more toward stimulus are keeping prices well supported,” Mark Pervan and Natalie Robertson, analysts at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., wrote in a report today. “Unless we start to see more action from Europe especially, the market can only go so far fueled by rhetoric and we risk some backsliding.”
Bullion for immediate delivery rose 0.2 percent to $1,619.55 an ounce by 9:02 a.m. in London. It reached $1,622 yesterday, the highest since July 5. Prices are up 2.2 percent this week, the most since June 1. December-delivery futures were 0.2 percent higher at $1,623.40 on the Comex in New York.
U.S. gross domestic product probably expanded at a 1.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter after a 1.9 percent gain in the prior three months, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News ahead of today’s data.
Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last week policy makers are “looking for ways to address the weakness in the economy should more action be needed to promote a sustained recovery in the labor market.” Draghi’s vow yesterday prompted speculation officials may be preparing new measures to fight the region’s debt crisis as potential bailouts for economies the size of Spain and Italy threaten to overwhelm Europe’s rescue funds.
Silver for immediate delivery rose 0.5 percent to $27.69 an ounce. Palladium gained 0.7 percent to $574.21 an ounce. Platinum was 0.7 percent higher at $1,415.88 an ounce. Gold’s premium to platinum settled at almost 15 percent in London yesterday, the most since January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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