Tokyo gold futures reached a two-and-a-half-week high on Tuesday as strong gains in US and Japanese shares and this week's falls in the yen prompted investors to buy back the precious metal. Investors were also encouraged by bright Technicals in Tokyo Commodity Exchange gold futures and as the cash price was above $650 an ounce since on Friday.
Benchmark TOCOM gold futures for February 2008 delivery rose as far as 2,514 yen a gram, the highest since March 2. "We've confirmed the solids in gold. Firmness in share prices and a weaker yen encouraged buying," said Takashi Ogura, manager at Kanetsu Asset Management. "Technical trends also improved but the market appears to be nervous about chasing gold from here. It may take a while before gold prices can extend more gains." February TOCOM rubber closed the session at 2,508 yen, up 10 yen or 0.4 percent from Monday's close.
The technical trend brightened after TOCOM gold penetrated the seven-day and 14-day moving averages the previous day. Follow-through buying emerged on Tuesday after the key contract broke through last week's high of 2,507 yen. The next key resistance would be around 2,522 yen, which are a high reached on March 2 and the key contract's 50-day moving average level.
Ogura said the key gold contract will also face strong resistance around 2,540 yen, which is a 50-percent retracement between 2,378 yen, a low reached on March 6, and a 21-year high of 2,702 yen hit on February 26. Investors were keen to buy the precious metal due to strong gains in US stocks the previous day and the yen's weakness against the dollar.
A lower yen effectively raises the value of yen-based gold. The yen fell to around 118 yen against the dollar on Tuesday, down from around 117.50 in late US trade. US stocks rallied on Monday after Britain's Barclays Plc and Dutch bank ABN Amro confirmed they were in talks to merge, boosting financial shares in the wake of the supreme mortgage market turmoil.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 115.76 points, or 0.96 percent, at 12,226.17. In Japan, the Nikkei average rose 1.04- percent on Tuesday to its highest level in a week. Cash gold extended gains on Tuesday as speculative buying persisted after the precious metal breached a key resistance of $650 ounce last week.
Spot gold rose to $654.90/655.90 an ounce from $653.30/654.30 late in New York on Monday, when it gained more than $1 an ounce. Investor focus is on a two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve that starts on Tuesday, and the release of US housing starts data.
Tokyo players were careful about building up new positions aggressively ahead of a public holiday on Wednesday. Other TOCOM precious metals advanced in line with gold, with platinum futures finishing the trade up 12 yen or 0.3 percent at 4,534 yen a gram.