SH: Commodities: Oil and gold rise after gloomy GDP data
LONDON (SHARECAST) - The worst US GDP data for 26 years sent investors scurrying for the safety of gold, pushing the April futures contract up to $940, up $4.20 on the day.
US GDP fell by an annual rate of 6.3% in the final quarter of last year, worse than the initial read of 6.2% but better than consensus forecasts from economists of a 6.6% fall.
Meanwhile, the appeal of gold as a safe asset was further enhanced by news that the total number of US unemployed rose to a record 5.56m, although the dollar’s strength limited the extent of gold’s gains.
The oil price was also on the rise, with the April contract rising above $54 a barrel, reversing Wednesday’s losses when the Energy Information Administration revealed that crude inventories rose by 3.3m barrels last week.
