Gold rose 1 percent to around $950 per ounce on Monday, as stock market falls on financial sector woes and persistent views that the global economy would stay gloomy polished up the yellow metal's lure as a safe-haven asset. A US jobs report due later this week is expected to show the world's largest economy shed 648,000 jobs in February, which would probably prove another drag on conventional assets.
Friday's data showing US gross domestic product shrank 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter, the worst since 1982, sparked a buying spree in gold, albeit briefly. Spot gold was at $949.70 per ounce by 0321 GMT, up 1 percent from its notional close on Friday. On Friday, a volatile stock market and end-month position adjustments, helped send the precious metal to a two-week low of $926.75, a retreat of almost 8 percent from an 11-month high above $1,000 on February 20.
Despite another sell-off in stocks in Asia on Monday, further selling in bullion is unlikely for now, said Shuji Sugata, manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and Securities' research team. "That's because an initial correction from the high above $1,000 hit two weeks ago is over when gold touched the low in New York," Sugata said. "In addition, weak stocks, gloomy data and instability in the financial sector are all in favour of gold.
The most important, I think, is data, including Friday's US jobs report. Since no strong numbers are expected, investors are now factoring in worsening data," he said. Japan's Nikkei stock average slid 3.2 percent on Monday, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and other banks sinking on fears about their US peers, while exporters fell on worry about the US economy.
The US government threw a new $30-billion lifeline to American International Group on Sunday as the embattled insurer prepared to report the biggest quarterrly loss in corporate history. But any price gains in gold would be limited unless strong inflows resume into gold-backed exchange-traded funds, analysts said. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said holdings remained at a record 1,029.29 tonnes as of February 27, unchanged from February 26.
Another sign of a halt in money inflows to the gold market came from data showing that speculative players reduced their net long positions to 161,865 lots on gold futures in New York at February 24, down 2.4 percent from a week earlier. US gold futures for April delivery rose $9.3 or 1 percent to $951.8 an ounce in electronic trade on Monday. The contract settled Friday down 10 cents on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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