RTTN:Gold Extends Record Peak Amid Global Growth Concerns
(RTTNews) - The price of gold was extending gains Tuesday morning as traders fret over intensifying sovereign debt issues in both sides of the Atlantic.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $50.60 to $1,763.80 an ounce, easing from an intraday record peak of $1,782.50. Yesterday, gold advanced to a fresh record above $1,700 as rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the top-tier AAA credit rating of the US, and assigned it a negative outlook.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved up from 1,286.30 tons to 1,309.92 tons, levels not seen since mid-July 2010, indicating increased safe-haven appeal amid persistent concerns about global economic growth.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was paring recent gains against the euro, sterling and the Japanese yen. The buck dived to a record low versus the Swiss franc.
In economic news from the euro zone, U.K. manufacturing output fell unexpectedly in June, while industrial production remained flat, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Manufacturing output was down 0.4 percent in June from a month ago, following May's 1.8 percent growth. Economists were expecting a monthly 0.2 percent rise. At the same time, industrial output remained flat after rising 0.8 percent in May. The expected rate of growth for June was 0.4 percent.
Elsewhere, the price of silver moved down and platinum ticked up in morning deals.
Traders will be closely following the Federal Reserve's policy setting committee, the FOMC, meeting later today to see whether the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy further in wake of the current downgrade.
