BLBG:Gold Swings Below Two-Month High on Stimulus, Demand Prospects
Gold fluctuated between gains and losses after dropping from a two-month high as investors weighed the prospect of reduced stimulus in the U.S. against increased demand for an alternative investment.
Spot gold rose and fell at least 0.2 percent, and traded $2.45 lower at $1,363.53 an ounce at 12:13 p.m. in Singapore. Prices climbed to $1,384.55 yesterday, the highest level since June 18, before closing 0.8 percent lower as concern that the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of its $85 billion in monthly bond buying hurt commodities, stocks and bonds.
Gold climbed 4.8 percent last week, the most since the five days to July 12, as the MSCI All-Country World Index of stocks fell. Bullion is still 19 percent lower this year on speculation that the Fed may cut asset purchases that helped the metal cap a 12-year bull run last year. Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 30-31 meeting due tomorrow may indicate when policy makers plan to pare the debt-buying program.
“In the near term, the focus for the bullion market may shift to the FOMC meeting minutes and the details with regards to the Fed’s intention over the tapering of its quantitative-easing program,” Howard Wen, an analyst at HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., wrote in a note. “Given the thin summer trading conditions, gold prices are likely to stay choppy.”
Gold for December delivery rose and fell at least 0.2 percent, before trading $2.20 lower at $1,363.50 on the Comex. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded product backed by bullion, fell to 912.32 metric tons yesterday, after last week capping the first weekly gain this year.
Silver for immediate delivery declined 0.5 percent to $23.053 an ounce after rallying to $23.6225 yesterday, the highest level since May 14. Spot platinum climbed 0.2 percent to $1,512.15 an ounce, halting two days of losses, while palladium was little changed at $750.50 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jake Lloyd-Smith at jlloydsmith@bloomberg.net
