By Barbara Kollmeyer and V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — Gold futures edged higher in choppy action on Wednesday, as the market struggled for direction and traders eyed movements in the currency markets.
Gold for December delivery GCZ2 +0.21% rose $4.60 to $1,780.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The metal lost $7.70 on Tuesday.
Frederic Panizzutti, senior vice president at MKS Group, said gold has been trading in a tight range and closely following euro/dollar movements.
The euro pressed lower against the dollar EURUSD -0.16% , dipping to $1.2892 from $1.2906.
The dollar had moved higher against the euro on Tuesday after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the country was close to requesting a financial bailout.
The ICE dollar index DXY +0.22% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, rose to 79.930 from 79.509 in North American trade late Tuesday. A firmer dollar tends to pressure prices of dollar-denominated commodities, such as gold.
In emailed comments, Panizzutti said the market is looking for short-term direction and awaiting Friday’s U.S. payrolls data, Thursday’s European Central Bank and Bank of England monetary-policy announcements and Wednesday evening’s U.S. presidential debate.
Data from payrolls processing firm ADP showed U.S. private payrolls rose by 162,000 in September, while economists had expected a rise of 153,000. Read: Private payrolls gain 162,000 in September: ADP
“We believe that gold has some upside potential over the short term,” said Panizzutti. “Likely we will test over $1,780 again very soon and possibly break over $1,800 an ounce. [Quantitative easing] is to have an impact and the general sentiment is that gold will close higher this year.”
Elsewhere in the metals complex, December silver futures SIZ2 +0.16% rose 3 cents to $34.67 an ounce, while December copper HGZ2 -0.68% retreated 3 cents to $3.77 a pound. December palladium futures PAZ2 -0.32% fell $2.45 to $651.70 an ounce, and January platinum futures PLF3 +0.04% rose $3.60 to $1,690.80 an ounce.
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau.
