ET:Gold extends monthly gains as on better physical demand
LONDON: Gold today extended a monthly gain as lower prices earlier this week spurred an increase in physical purchases.
Gold rose by 0.2 per cent to USD 1,729.69 an ounce. Prices are down 1.3 per cent this week, cutting the monthly gain to 0.5 per cent. Silver was little changed at USD 34.24 an ounce, after reaching USD 34.39 yesterday, the highest since October 8. It's up 6.1 per cent this month.
The dollar reached a five-week low against the euro as Democrats and Republicans wrangled over the spending cuts and tax increases of the so-called fiscal cliff looming for the US in January.
Holdings in gold ETPs climbed 3.5 metric tonnes to a record 2,619.4 tonnes. The US Mint sold 131,000 ounces of American Eagle gold coins this month, the most since January 2011.
After meeting US Treasury Secretary Timothy F Geithner yesterday, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said President Barack Obama must "get serious" about the fiscal cliff talks.
