MW: Gold futures up 1.6%, poised to snap losing streak
By Claudia Assis and Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rebounded Friday, leaving behind a four-day losing streak as other commodities also rose, with lower prices and a weaker dollar helping entice investors back to the metal.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z +1.53% added $26.10, or 1.6%, to $1,638.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It has traded as high as $1,649.60 an ounce and as low as $1,612.80 an ounce.
The day was dominated by dollar moves and investor hopes surrounding Europe, said Charles Nedoss, senior market strategist with Olympus Futures in Chicago.
Volumes “are picking up a little bit,” currently at light to moderate, as investors started to come back to the metal, he added.
Gold posted a 2.1% loss on Thursday, having ended lower the prior three sessions as well. Read more about Thursday's metals session.
Metals tracked equity markets’ gains across the globe on Friday, as U.S. stocks moved broadly higher following key earnings, with McDonald’s Corp. shares trading at an all-time high amid optimism ahead of a euro-zone summit over the weekend.
Investors cautiously welcomed a statement from France and Germany promising to provide firm details of a debt-rescue plan for the euro zone in the next few days.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Saturday night in Brussels to prepare for the summit meeting of European leaders set for Sunday. Read more analysis on the European summit.
Copper led the gains in the broader metals complex, recouping much of a 6.2% loss in the previous session. December copper HG1Z +5.31% added 17 cents, or 5.6%, to $3.23 a pound.
Silver for December delivery SI1Z +2.74% rose 99 cents, or 3.4%, to $31.31 an ounce.
January platinum PL2F +1.29% gained $6.10, or 0.4%, to trade at $1,493 an ounce. December palladium PA1Z +5.66% put on $32.30, or 5.5%, to $616.70 an ounce.
The dollar index DXY -0.58% , which gauges the performance of the U.S. currency against six major rivals, stood at 76.317, compared with 76.958 late Thursday.
A weaker greenback is usually positive for dollar-priced commodities such as metals, as it makes them less expensive to holders of other currencies.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
