AIRLINK 212.82 Increased By ▲ 3.27 (1.56%)
BOP 10.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-2.01%)
CNERGY 7.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-4.76%)
FCCL 33.47 Decreased By ▼ -0.92 (-2.68%)
FFL 17.64 Decreased By ▼ -0.41 (-2.27%)
FLYNG 21.82 Decreased By ▼ -1.10 (-4.8%)
HUBC 129.11 Decreased By ▼ -3.38 (-2.55%)
HUMNL 13.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-1.98%)
KEL 4.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.17 (-3.38%)
KOSM 6.93 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.98%)
MLCF 43.63 Decreased By ▼ -1.57 (-3.47%)
OGDC 212.95 Decreased By ▼ -5.43 (-2.49%)
PACE 7.22 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-4.75%)
PAEL 41.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-1.27%)
PIAHCLA 16.83 Decreased By ▼ -0.47 (-2.72%)
PIBTL 8.63 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.94%)
POWERPS 12.50 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PPL 183.03 Decreased By ▼ -6.00 (-3.17%)
PRL 39.63 Decreased By ▼ -2.70 (-6.38%)
PTC 24.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.44 (-1.75%)
SEARL 98.01 Decreased By ▼ -5.95 (-5.72%)
SILK 1.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-1.94%)
SSGC 41.73 Increased By ▲ 2.49 (6.35%)
SYM 18.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.30 (-1.57%)
TELE 9.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-2.6%)
TPLP 12.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.70 (-5.34%)
TRG 65.68 Decreased By ▼ -3.50 (-5.06%)
WAVESAPP 10.98 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (2.43%)
WTL 1.79 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (4.68%)
YOUW 4.03 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-2.66%)
BR100 11,866 Decreased By -213.1 (-1.76%)
BR30 35,697 Decreased By -905.3 (-2.47%)
KSE100 114,148 Decreased By -1904.2 (-1.64%)
KSE30 35,952 Decreased By -625.5 (-1.71%)

Gold rose above $1,250 an ounce and neared a one-year high on Wednesday, acting as counter against risk alongside top-rated government bonds as oil's earlier weakness rippled into global equity markets. Spot gold rose as much as 2.1 percent to a session high of $1,252.91 an ounce, just shy of a one-year high of $1,260.60 reached on February 11. At 2:25 pm EST (1925 GMT), it was up 0.5 percent at $1,233.06.
The market's rediscovered role as a shelter for risk-averse investors seemed to be gaining traction, traders and analysts said, even as the dollar gained ground against a basket of major currency rivals. The dollar fell later in the day. "Gold is rising on the back of weak risk appetite, but what stands out today is that the market is rising even though the dollar is higher as well," Jens Pedersen, senior analyst at Danske Bank, said when the greenback was firm.
"We've definitely reached a new range above $1,200 due to re-pricing risks of Fed rate hikes," Pedersen said. He added that further sustained gains may be capped until the path for monetary policy is clearer. Technically, gold looks set to test recent highs at a one-year top of $1,260, MKS Group said in a note.
Stocks across the globe fell on concerns over economic growth but were off their session lows after crude oil futures turned higher following US inventory data. New US single-family home sales tumbled in January, while other data showed the services sector contracted in early February for the first time since October 2013.
"Reports lately have been showing continuing signs of weakness," said Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of Heraeus Metal Management in New York. "The gold market obviously is telling us that the market is starting to believe that there is certainly reason for concern." Dallas Federal Reserve President Robert Kaplan, who advocates a patient approach to policy tightening in the wake of global headwinds, said he does not expect the United States to enter recession this year.
Assets in SPDR Gold Trust, the top gold-backed ETF, are at their highest since March 2015. The fund's inflows since the beginning of the year have already surpassed outflows for the whole of 2015, lending support to gold prices. Other precious metals turned lower, with silver down 0.1 percent to $15.28. Platinum was down 0.3 percent at $941.50, while palladium fell 3 percent to $482.72, the lowest since January 20.

Copyright Reuters, 2016

Comments

Comments are closed.