FU: Gold futures advance on Mideast, Japan worries, soft U.S. dollar
Futures Pros – Gold futures were up for a second day on Thursday, amid ongoing fears over Japan's nuclear crisis and unrest in Libya and Bahrain, while prices were also boosted by a broadly weaker U.S. dollar.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded at USD1,402.65 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, adding 0.3%.
It earlier rose to a daily high of USD1,405.25 a troy ounce.
Japanese authorities said Thursday they were stepping up efforts to cool reactors at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, 155 miles north east of Tokyo, in a desperate attempt to keep spent fuel rods from over-heating and causing further radiation leaks.
Meanwhile, Iran recalled its ambassador from Bahrain to protest the government’s crackdown on Shi’ite demonstrators as well as the arrest of six Shi’ite activists.
The arrests come a day after the country declared a three-month state of emergency after troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states arrived to help suppress anti-regime demonstrations by Shi’ites calling for democracy and civil rights.
Gold is often considered a haven against political turmoil or economic downturns in part because it is not as linked to industrial production as are other commodities and equities.
Elsewhere, official U.S. data showed that initial jobless claims declined broadly in line with expectations last week. A separate report said that that consumer price inflation rose slightly more-than-expected in February, while core consumer prices, which exclude more volatile food and energy costs, rose slightly more-than-expected last month.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dropped 0.85% to hit 76.30 during U.S. morning trade.
Gold prices often move inversely to the U.S. dollar, as gold becomes less expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Elsewhere, silver for May delivery climbed 0.51% to trade at USD34.39 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery soared 3.6% to trade at USD4.332 a pound during U.S. morning trade.
