ONDON: Gold rose on Thursday as the dollar fell versus a basket of currencies.
Spot gold was bid at $933.50 an ounce at 1311 GMT, against $929.00 an ounce late in New York on Wednesday. US gold futures for August delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $6.20 to $933.40 an ounce. Overall demand in India remains weak, however. The country’s gold imports have reached a provisional 8-10 tonnes in July so far, well below the 24 tonnes recorded last June, the Bombay Bullion Association said.
Investment demand for gold remained soft, however, as ETF holdings slipped further. Holdings of the largest bullion ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust, fell over 10 tonnes on Wednesday, and are down nearly 48 tonnes in the last four weeks. On the supply side, the world’s largest gold producer, Barrick Gold, said it produced 1.87 million ounces of gold in the second quarter and is on track to meet its 2009 output target of 7.2-7.6 million ounces.
Among other precious metals, silver tracked gold up to $13.44 an ounce against $13.28. Spot platinum was at $1,177 an ounce against $1,170, while spot palladium was at $255 against $252.50.
Copper rises: Copper rose 4% on Thursday, near 10-month highs. Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange was at $5,634.25 a tonne at 1449 GMT from $5,415 at the close on Wednesday. Aluminium hit an 8-month high. The metal used in power and construction hit a 10-month high of $5,646 earlier this week, powered by a recent raft of improving corporate and economic data that boosted investors’ confidence in the demand outlook.
Nickel traded at $17,125 from $16,250 on Wednesday. Tracking copper and spurred higher by the jobs data, it leapt to a session high of $17,127. Aluminium traded at $1,881.5 from $1,803 and hit $1,882, its highest since Nov 19. Zinc traded at $1,710 from 1,643. Zinc stocks rose 15,350 tonnes to 393,425 tonnes. Battery material lead rose to $1,818 from 1,760. It hit $1,826, its highest since June 12. Tin was at $14,500 from Wednesday’s last quote of $14,200. reuters
