By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures climbed in electronic trading Wednesday, as concerns over whether Greece will undermine European efforts to tackle the region’s debt crisis supported demand for safe-haven assets.
Gold for December delivery GC1Z +0.87% gained $12.30, or 0.7%, to $1,724.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours.
The contract had settled at $1,711.80 an ounce earlier in the North American session.
Fresh worries about Europe’s debt situation washed through markets on Wednesday, after a surprise decision by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou earlier this week to put the nation’s latest bailout plan to a referendum inflamed fears about a Greek sovereign-debt default. Read more about the latest Greek turmoil.
The development supported investment demand for gold as a perceived safe store of wealth, while riskier asset-classes such as equities and oil sold-off.
The broader suite of metals tracked gold higher in electronic trading, with silver leading the gains.
Silver futures for December delivery SI1Z +2.92% added 70 cents, or 2.2%, to $33.44 an ounce, but didn’t recoup the 4.7% loss posted in Tuesday’s session.
December copper HG1Z +2.81% added 5 cents, or 1.4%, to $3.55 a pound.
January platinum PL2F +0.85% improved $12.00, or 0.8%, to $1,594.00 an ounce, while palladium PA1Z +1.07% for December delivery put on $2.60, or 0.4%, to $637.60 an ounce.
A softer dollar also encouraged metal-buying, with the dollar index DXY -0.35% , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of rival currencies, trading at 77.222, from 77.298 in North American trading late Tuesday.
A weaker greenback tends to support investment in dollar-priced commodities as it makes them less expensive to holders of other currencies.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
