Gold was stuck in a range on Thursday as reports that North Korea may fire more missiles failed to attract much safe-haven buying, and dealers said the metal was likely to turn to currencies for direction.
Spot gold hit a high of $628.30 an ounce before retreating to $626.00/626.75 an ounce. That was lower than $627.40/628.10 levels late in New York on Wednesday, when gold rose nearly $6 an ounce.
Activities in North Korea suggested the communist state may fire more missiles, South Korea's defence minister was quoted as saying on Thursday by Yonhap news agency. On Wednesday, gold hit a one-month high of $630.50 an ounce mainly on safe-haven buying after North Korea tested a series of missiles, but there was no follow-up on Thursday.
"I don't think traders have any particular idea as to where the market is heading. We will probably wait for data from the US," said a dealer in Hong Kong. "We can expect to see a trading range of $618 to $630 in the next few days.
I don't think North Korea will have any impact on the market now. Everyday, they will launch missiles," he said. Defying international warnings, North Korea launched at least six missiles on Wednesday and a seventh some 12 hours later, officials in Japan and South Korea said.
In Tokyo, the benchmark June 2007 gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rose 14 yen per gram to 2,357 yen, tracking strong gains in New York's Comex market. The euro was at $1.2730, versus $1.2724 late in New York, and slipping from a one-month high of $1.2840 on Wednesday.
The market is waiting on the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the day and US job data on Friday. Expectations of a further US rate hike rose after a report on private-sector employment on Wednesday showed strong growth, raising prospects of similar growth on Friday's non-farm payroll data for June.
Platinum fell to $1,227.50/1,232.50 an ounce from $1,232/1,238 in New York. Sister metal palladium rose to $322.50/327.50 an ounce from $320/325. Silver inched down to $11.34/11.39 an ounce from $11.38/11.46.
Comments
Comments are closed.