MW: Gold rises on China reserves; copper tumbles in week
Gold futures rose Friday, and were headed for their first week of gain in five, after getting a boost from news that China has nearly doubled its gold reserves since 2003 to the world's fifth largest. Copper is poised to lose more than 8% this week on economic fears.
China has increased its gold reserves by 76% in six years to 1,054 tons, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The country has now the fifth- largest gold stockpile by country, behind Italy's 2,451.8 tons, according to data compiled by the World Gold Council.
"Gold has been given a further boost on the back of the China reserve news," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. "But the metal now needs to clear trend-line resistance around $916 to confirm the return of more bullish sentiment and target the $940 area."
Gold for June delivery gained $3.80, or 0.4%, to $910.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It's set to end the week up nearly 5%, the first weekly gain since the week ended March 27.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust , the biggest gold exchange-traded fund, stood at 1,104.45 tons Thursday, down 1.53 from a day ago, according to the latest data from the fund.
Hu Xiaolian, head of China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said the amount of gold reserves has been reported to the International Monetary Fund as per the organization's rules.
Analysts said China bullion buying reflects efforts to diversify their nearly $2 trillion stockpile of foreign exchange reserves.
In other metals Friday, copper rose for the first session in four but is heading for a weekly loss of as big as 8.5%. May copper was last up 1.5 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.007 a pound.
Copper's weekly loss came after it closed at $2.194 last Friday, the highest level since mid-October and up more than 50% from February's low below $1.40.
Meanwhile, May silver gained 10 cents, or 0.8%, to $12.855 an ounce. June palladium added $2.50, or 1.1%, to $235 an ounce. July platinum fell $2.50, or 0.2%, to $1,185.50 an ounce.
