By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) – Gold futures moved higher in electronic trading Tuesday, amid a general rebound for commodities.
Gold for August delivery GC1Q +0.11% added $3.20, or 0.2%, to $1,499.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
The metal had traded above the $1,500 level earlier in the session.
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“Gold and commodities have a positive relationship, [gold] is taking its cue from crude oil as well as copper,” Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore said.
“If there’s greater optimism, then commodities rally. The safe-haven buying is not really coming in for gold at this point in time,” she said.
Expectations are growing that the Greek parliament will vote this week in favor of more austerity measures, which would pave they way for the debt-stricken nation to secure its tranche of aid. Read more about Greece.
Ong said the outcome in Greece, coupled with Tuesday’s U.S. consumer confidence figures, could be bullish for gold.
“If there’s greater optimism that Greece will pass austerity measures, and if we see an upside surprise for consumer confidence figures, then gold could get a boost, if commodities also rally,” she said.
Commodities, which are priced in dollars, tend to trade inversely to the dollar, and the dollar index DXY +0.12% declined to 75.268, from 75.452 in North American trade late Monday.
Around the broader metals complex, silver for July delivery SI1N +0.57% gained 13 cents, or 0.4%, to $33.71 an ounce.
Copper for September delivery HG1U +0.07% the contract with the most open interest, added 1 cent, or 0.1%, to $4.06 a pound, while July platinum PL1N +0.62% put on $12.50, or 0.8%, to $1,685.50 an ounce.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
