Gold tumbles as dollar gains on growth fears

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures sold off on Monday, as a stronger dollar and profit-taking after recent highs took a toll on metals and other commodities futures.

The broader metals complex tracked gold lower, with palladium among the top losers, off 4%.

Gold gained 0.3% last week after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest round of quantitative easing and policy action by central banks in Europe and Japan encouraged buyers to seek tangible assets amid fears of inflation.

Gold is viewed as a safe store of value and tends to benefit from expectations of currency debasement. Monday’s fall has chipped away at monthly and yearly gains, but those are still at a respectable 4.6% for the month and nearly 13% for the year.

The metal’s luster hasn’t faded, as Barclays upgraded its gold price forecasts and more money managers upped their “long” bets, or expectations prices will go higher.

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Gold for December delivery GCZ2 -0.61%declined $13, or 0.7%, to $1,765.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Many investors wanted to be long on gold over the weekend as a cautionary measure, but dumped gold and other metals on Monday to take recent profits, said Carlos Sanchez, director of risk management at CPM Group in New York.

Sentiment on Wall Street was also dented, as worries centering around Spain and whether the embattled country would ask for a full-on bailout, pushing the euro lower.

source here  |  24 Sept 2012   >>

Gold hits 6-1/2 month high after central bank stimulus

By Jan Harvey

LONDON | Fri Sep 21, 2012 7:48pm IST

(Reuters) - Gold prices rose 1 percent on Friday to 6-1/2 month highs as expectations that central bank measures to stimulate growth would boost liquidity, fuel inflation and keep a lid on interest rates put the metal on track for a fifth straight week of gains.

A firmer tone across the financial markets also supported bullion. European shares and the euro rose, while oil rebounded from a 1-1/2 month low, as investors moved back into markets still feeling the benefits of central bank support measures. <MKTS/GLOB>

Spot gold hit a peak of $1,787.20 an ounce and was up 0.8 percent at $1,771.14 an ounce at 9:44 a.m. EDT (1344 GMT), while U.S. gold futures for December delivery were up $14.00 an ounce at $1,784.20.

The Bank of Japan was the latest central bank to unveil easing measures this week, after the Federal Reserve announced an aggressive asset purchasing program earlier this month and the European Central Bank unveiled plans to buy bonds of the bloc's heavily indebted countries.

The Fed move, a third round of so-called quantitative easing which will see it buy $40 billion a month in mortgage-backed debt until the outlook for the labor market improves, lifted spot gold by 2 percent in a single day.

"QE3 was a bit of a game-changer for a lot of people. People are having to think seriously about where they put their money," Ross Norman, chief executive of bullion broker Sharps Pixley, said. "Gold does seem to have taken on a life of its own now. We think we might see $1,800 in the next couple of weeks or so."

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Gold hits new high of Rs 32,450 on firm global cues

Tracking strong global cues, gold on Saturday soared by Rs540 per ten grams to fresh all-time high of Rs32,450 in the national capital.

Prices of gold (99.5 purity) in Kolkata increased by Rs620 to Rs32,425, while rates in Chennai rose by Rs710 to Rs32,325 per ten grams. In Mumbai, the precious metal's rates surged by Rs605 to Rs31,955 on Saturday.

"The domestic gold prices are rising purely due to global development. After the announcement of potentially unlimited bond-buying by the European Central Bank (ECB) and unfavourable non-farm pay roll data of the US, international gold prices shot up," SMC Comtrade chairman and managing director DK Aggarwal said.

Global prices rallied as poor non-farm employment data indicated serious job problems in the US and its weak economic situation, traders said.

The US data also brightened chances of announcement of stimulus package by the US Federal Reserve in its forthcoming meeting, Aggarwal said, adding that these developments are driving prices of gold and silver.

Gold prices in New York shot up by $34 to $1,735.30 an ounce, its biggest single-day gain since February 29.

Aggarwal said there is not much of physical demand of gold in the country. However, jewellery demand is expected to pick in the wedding and festive season.

Echoing similar views, All India Sarafa Association General Secretary Surender Jain said: "Local gold price, which moves in tandem with global rate, is expected to see more peak levels in coming days."

In the domestic market, silver prices also rose by Rs2,100 to Rs61,800 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

source here  |  Sat Sept 8, 2012