BLBG; Gold Falls on Speculation Rally Was Overdone; Silver Advances
Gold fell as some investors sold the precious metal on speculation a rally to the highest price in more than a week was overdone. Silver advanced.
Gold touched $866.60 an ounce yesterday, extending a rally in New York that began Jan. 16 to a 5.9 percent gain, the most in two sessions since mid-December. Investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, reached a record 802.9 metric tons yesterday. Gold rose 5.5 percent in 2008 for the eighth-straight annual gain.
“Gold’s covered a lot of ground recently,” said Matt Zeman, metals trader at LaSalle Futures Group in Chicago. “We saw prices rise dramatically so the rally was a bit overdone and a little profit taking is expected.”
Gold futures for February delivery fell $1, or 0.1 percent, to $854.20 an ounce at 9:44 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Silver futures for March delivery gained 20 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $11.375 an ounce. The metal slumped 24 percent in 2008.
