MW: Gold gains, but clouds hover over short-term outlook
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Gold prices edged higher Wednesday, a slight recovery from losses in the previous session when investors sought to take on risk in equities.
Gold for August GCQ4 +0.18% rose $2.20, or 0.2%, to $1,308.50 an ounce.
The August contract dropped nearly $8 on Tuesday as the appeal of safe havens weakened and stocks strengthened on better-than-expected inflation and housing data, and quarterly earnings reports that have mostly come in above expectations. The S&P 500 index SPX +0.50% on Tuesday closed just shy of its record closing high.
Gold only holds “slight upside potential” in the short term, wrote commodities analysts at Commerzbank on Wednesday. They noted that dollar-denominated gold was weighed by gains in the dollar EURUSD +0.03% against the euro Tuesday as the U.S annual. inflation rate remained at 2.1%.
As well, Commerzbank said Chinese gold demand is continuing to falter, and the precious metal is also likely to receive “virtually no support from Indian demand, for Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley [on Tuesday] dashed any last hopes that the gold import restrictions might be eased in the near future.”
Elsewhere in metals trading, September silver SIU4 +0.13% picked up 1 cent at $21.02 an ounce. October platinum PLV4 +0.02% fell 30 cents to $1,488 an ounce, while September palladium PAU4 -0.21% gave up $1.45, or 0.2%, to $873.40 an ounce.
High-grade copper for September delivery HGU4 -0.13% shed a penny to $3.20 a pound.
