SPDR gold holdings hit new record, rising nearly 10 tons
Gold futures rose Tuesday, moving back above $910 an ounce after falling below $900 overnight as a weakening dollar attracted investors.
Gold for February delivery was up $4.80, or 0.5%, at $911.50 an ounce in early trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell to as low as $896.40 overnight. The front-month contract ended at the highest level in six months Friday.
Trading more actively, gold for March delivery also rose, up 0.6% to $912.30 an ounce.
Traders taking profits forced gold prices below the $900-an-ounce level overnight, but other investors quickly stepped in, sensing the opportunity for bargain hunting, said analysts at Action Economics.
The dollar eased in foreign-exchange trading, with the dollar index down 0.8% at 85.458. See Currencies.
A weakening dollar tends to increase gold's appeal as an alternative to other investments. Safe-haven demand for gold has also been rising as recent data served to deepen investors' worries about prospects for the economy.
Holdings the SPDR Gold Trust , the largest exchange-traded gold fund, reached an all-time high Monday, hitting 853.37 tons. The total was almost 10 tons higher than that reported a day earlier.
The SPDR Gold Trust rose 0.5% to $89.31.
"The long-term investment demand through the gold ETFs is extraordinarily high and likely to rise still further," said Julian Phillips, editor at GoldForecaster.com.
Gold prices have risen about 3% so far this year, comparing favorably with an 8.6% drop in the S&P 500 equity benchmark and a 10% decline in crude-oil futures.
The February gold contract is set to expire Feb. 20. The contract's open interest, or the number of outstanding contracts, stood at 4,840, or 484,000 ounces.
Gold inventories held by the Comex for futures delivery stood at 2,794,610 ounces as of Monday, down 102 ounces from a day ago, according to the latest data from the exchange.
Copper jumps 3.2%
In other metals action Tuesday, March copper rose 3.2% to $1.476 a pound, while March silver lost 0.2% to $12.395 an ounce. March palladium fell 1.1% to $196.25 an ounce, while the April contract for sister-metal platinum dropped 0.4% to $975 an ounce.
In other equities, shares of Barrick Gold Corp. , the world's largest gold mining company, gained 1.8% to $36.62, while Goldcorp Inc. added 0.8% to $28.67, and South Africa's Gold Fields Ltd. rose 2.3% to $10.74.
The Amex Gold Bugs Index , which tracks the share prices of major gold companies, gained 1.3% to 293.17.
The iShares Gold Trust ETF rose 0.6% to $89.33, while the iShares Silver Trust ETF dropped 0.5% to $12.15.
The Market Vectors-Gold Miners ETF gained 1.9% to $33.54.
