By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures extended gains in electronic trading on Monday, as jitters about the strength of the global recovery supported buying in the traditional safe-haven asset.
Gold for August delivery, the most active contract, gained $3.60, or 0.2%, to $1,546.00 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
Gold closed out the week higher, after a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report encouraged buying in the metal on worries about an extended economic slowdown.
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Silver for July delivery tracked gold higher, adding 53 cents, or 1.5%, to $36.72 an ounce.
The broader metals complex also traded higher during the Asian session.
Copper for July delivery put on 1 cent, or 0.3%, to $4.15 a pound.
Copper is used extensively in wiring and construction, and analysts at Barclays Capital said the market has been dominated this year “by the degree and nature of softness in Chinese demand.” See Caixin report on major changes to China’s manufacturing sector.
“It is likely that as soon as Chinese import levels rise in the third quarter, and this feeds on a decline in LME stock levels, the overall fundamental architecture will be in place and convincing enough for copper prices to push to yet new record highs,” the analysts said.
Platinum for July delivery gained $4.00, or 0.2%, to $1,827.70 an ounce, while the September contract for sister-metal palladium edged up $1.60, or 0.2%, to $787.00 an ounce.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
