BLBG:Gold Seen Rising On Prospects For Further Central-Bank Stimulus
Gold, trading near a five-month high, was seen rising in London as economic reports fueling the case for more central-bank stimulus stoked demand for the metal.
Euro-area manufacturing shrank more than first estimated in August, a report showed yesterday. Figures today may show U.S. manufacturing teetered between growth and contraction in August, according to a survey of economists. Bullion also was seen climbing as the euro rose as much as 0.3 percent against the dollar. Gold and the greenback tend to move inversely.
“Poor economic data has generally raised hopes for more broad-based quantitative easing,” William Adams, an analyst at FastMarkets.com in London, said in a report today.
Immediate-delivery gold was little changed at $1,693.30 an ounce by 9:38 a.m. in London. Prices reached $1,697.20, the highest level since March 13. December-delivery gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,695.60 an ounce on the Comex in New York, where floor trading was closed yesterday for the Labor Day holiday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Aug. 31 the U.S. central bank will provide additional stimulus as needed. The European Central Bank may reveal details of a plan to buy bonds of debt-saddled nations when officials meet on Sept. 6.
“The euro strength seems to be reflecting high expectations that the ECB will come up with some ground-breaking policy,” Adams said.
Manufacturing in China contracted last month for the first time since November, an official gauge showed Sept. 1.
“The fall in August manufacturing, particularly in China, raises the prospects of additional stimulus,” Lachlan Shaw, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in an e-mail.
Assets in gold-backed exchange-traded products, which reached a record 2,460.5 metric tons on Aug. 29, came to 2,460 tons on Aug. 31, according to data tracked by Bloomberg.
Silver for immediate delivery climbed for a third day, gaining 0.5 percent to $32.245 an ounce. Prices reached $32.315, the highest level since April 13.
Platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,555.25 an ounce after touching $1,560.50, the highest price since Aug. 23. Palladium advanced 0.6 percent to $634.50 an ounce.
To contact the reporters on this story: Maria Kolesnikova in London at mkolesnikova@bloomberg.net; Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
