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February 02nd, 2012 7:57AM
GOLD futures climbed to the highest level in almost two months overnight as investors sought the precious metal as an alternative to the slipping US dollar after a batch of upbeat global economic data.
Gold futures for April delivery, the most actively traded contract, rose $US9.10, or 0.5 per cent, at $US1,749.50 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since December 2.
The dollar eased as investors dumped the perceived safe-haven currency after relatively upbeat readings on everything from Chinese and European manufacturing to US private-sector hiring. A weaker dollar can lift dollar-denominated gold and other commodities by making the futures appear cheaper for investors using other currencies.
Gold and the dollar have an added link, as some investors use gold as a hedge against instability in the currency. The ICE US Dollar Index overnight touched its lowest level since December 9.
“It’s hard to look at this rally and believe that it is not going to continue,” said Dave Meger, director of metals trading with brokerage Vision Financial Markets. “Obviously if Europe fell apart once again you’d start seeing selling pressure across the board, but shy of that I think we have the environment for higher metals prices.”
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January 25th, 2012
Gold futures surged to a six-week high after the Federal Reserve said it expects “exceptionally low” interest rates through at least late 2014. Silver, platinum and palladium also advanced.
Fed Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said at a press conference after the central bank’s statement that the option of further large- scale bond purchases is still “on the table.” Gold has jumped 28 percent in the past 12 months, partly as record-low rates boosted the appeal of the metal as a hedge against inflation.
“We saw an immediate reaction in gold” after the Fed’s announcement, Michael A. Gayed, the chief investment strategist who helps oversee $150 million at New York-based Pension Partners LLC, said in a telephone interview. “People are betting that at some point the economy will face inflationary pressures because of the low interest rate.”
Gold futures for April delivery climbed 2.1 percent to close at $1,703 an ounce at 1:44 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the biggest gain since Jan. 3. In electronic trading after the settlement, the metal reached $1,716.10, the highest for a most- active contract since Dec. 12.
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January 25th, 2012
Gold provided the best returns of all commodities in the past five years when adjusted for volatility, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. says the rally will continue as options traders signal no change in the metal’s relatively low risk.
The BLOOMBERG RISKLESS RETURN RANKING shows the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Gold Total Return Index produced a 6.5 percent risk- adjusted return in the five years ended yesterday, the highest among 24 commodities tracked by S&P, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Silver, the next-best performer, yielded a risk-adjusted gain of 3.1 percent, while a total-return index for all raw materials slipped 0.2 percent.
Bullion, which has seen 11 years of gains as investors sought a haven amid two bear markets in stocks and a sovereign debt crisis, also posted the safest return in the past 12 months, even as it fell from a record high to a five-month low in the second half of last year and gold investors led by John Paulson suffered losses. Goldman Sachs forecasts gold will reach a record this year, and a gauge of future price swings is near a five-month low.
“Economic problems increased globally, and gold emerged as a safe-haven investment,” Walter ‘Bucky’ Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion of assets at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. “Monetary easing by China and quantitative easing in Europe and the U.S. will help it remain a store of value.”
The risk-adjusted return is calculated by dividing total return by volatility, or the degree of daily price-swing variation, giving a measure of income per unit of risk. The returns are not annualized.
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January 23rd, 2012
Gold will probably reach $2,300 an ounce in 2012 and may top $3,500 in three years, Alacer Gold Corp. Chief Executive Officer Ed Dowling said.
Concerns about sovereign debt and increased demand for gold in emerging markets including China will be positive for prices, Dowling said in a telephone interview Jan. 20.
“There’s only one way for gold to go and that’s really up,” Dowling said. “I think we’ll see $2,300 this year.”
Gold Futures have risen for 11 straight years on increased investor demand. Futures for February delivery rose 0.9 percent to settle at $1,678.30 an ounce on the Comex in New York.
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January 24th, 2012
Gold futures prices dropped the most in a more than a week as the dollar rebounded from a two-week low, reducing demand for the precious metal as an alternative asset.
The greenback rose as much as 0.5 percent against a basket of currencies after European policy makers and Greek bondholders failed to reach agreement on a debt-swap plan. The MSCI All- Country World Index of equities declined as much as 1 percent.
“The markets are taking a hit because everyone was expecting Greece to come up with a plan,” Adam Klopfenstein, a market strategist at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “People are largely in a risk- off mode today.”
Gold futures for February delivery dropped 0.8 percent to $1,665.30 an ounce at 10:10 a.m. on the Comex in New York. A close at that level would mark the biggest fall for a most- active contract since Jan. 13. Yesterday, prices touched $1,681.80, the highest since Dec. 12.
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January 18th, 2012
Gold futures rose for a third day, climbing alongside other commodities including copper, as the dollar weakened before data forecast to show signs of economic recovery.
Gold for spot gained as much as 0.4 percent to $1,658.45 an ounce and traded at $1,654.48 at 1:40 p.m. in Singapore. The metal climbed to $1,667.90 yesterday, the highest since Dec. 13 and an increase of 6.7 percent this year. February-delivery bullion was little changed at $1,655.20 on the Comex in New York.
The dollar dropped against most of its major counterparts before U.S. industrial production and homebuilder confidence data. It fell for a second day against the euro after a hedge- fund manager on a creditors’ committee for Greece said the country is nearing a deal on its debt. Greek Minister Prime Lucas Papademos will resume talks with private bondholders today.
“Safe-haven investments have flowed into the dollar rather than gold over the past few months, with gold being led by other commodities, especially the industrial metals,” Qu Ying, an analyst at Zhongzhou Futures Co., said from Shandong. “There isn’t much impetus to drive gold past the $1,550 to $1,700 range so you’ll get investors taking profits when prices climb and entering the market when they drop.”
Global holdings in exchange-traded products backed by the metal rose to a four-week high of 2,360.757 metric tons yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A report yesterday showed manufacturing in the New York region expanded in January at the fastest pace in nine months, while German investor confidence advanced to the most on record in January, helping to send copper prices up for a third day today. Continue reading »
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December 29th, 2011
Gold futures fell to a five-month low in New York as extended gains in the dollar heightened speculation of slowing demand for precious metals.
The dollar climbed 0.4 percent against the euro after jumping 1 percent yesterday. Holdings (.GLDTONS) in bullion-backed exchange-traded products fell about 1.5 percent from a record on Dec. 14, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Gold is still up 7.8 percent this year, heading for an 11th consecutive advance.
“Yesterday and overnight the gold price traded lower as a reaction to the stronger U.S. dollar,” said Bayram Dincer, an analyst at LGT Capital Management in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland. “The fundamental investment case for gold is still intact.”
Gold futures for February delivery declined 2 percent to $1,532.20 an ounce at 8:11 a.m. on the Comex in New York and earlier today dropped to $1,523.90, the lowest level since July 7. The metal for immediate delivery fell as much as 2.1 percent to $1,522.65 an ounce, the lowest since July 6.
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December 28th, 2011
Gold futures prices slipped further away from the $1,600-an-ounce level Wednesday, headed for a fifth straight losing session, unable to get much support as buying interest was scarce in thin year-end trade.
The February gold futures contract (CNS:GC2G) fell $30.60, or 1.9%, to $1,564.90 on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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December 9th, 2011
Gold traders are more bullish as investors buy metal at the fastest pace in a year to protect their wealth from Europe’s escalating debt crisis.
Eighteen of 26 surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to advance next week, the highest proportion since Nov. 11. Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by gold rose 108.5 metric tons to a record from the start of October, the most since the second quarter of 2010, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The extra bullion is valued at $5.99 billion.
Investors are now making a $130.2 billion bet on gold as European leaders meet in Brussels to seek ways to tackle the crisis that means Germany and France are under threat of losing their AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s. The European Central Bank yesterday cut interest rates for a second consecutive month to shore up growth, increasing the appeal of gold, which earns investors returns through price gains.
“People are buying out of concern, out of fear,” said Mark O’Byrne, executive director of Dublin-based GoldCore Ltd., a brokerage that sells everything from quarter-ounce British Sovereigns to 400-ounce bars. Central banks “are all pursuing extremely loose monetary policies and we still have negative real interest rates. That makes gold attractive.”
Bullion rose 21 percent to $1,715.70 an ounce this year on the Comex in New York, and reached a record $1,923.70 in September. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities rose 2 percent and the MSCI All-Country World Index of equities retreated 9.3 percent. Treasuries returned 9.3 percent, a Bank of America Corp. index shows.
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