Source from (The Malaysian Insider): http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/gold-rebounds-after-hitting-1-month-low-on-us-jobs-data/
Published: December 09, 2012
A salesgirl shows a gold necklace to customers at a jewellery showroom in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh November 11, 2012. — Reuters pic
A report showing US employment grew faster than expected in November boosted the dollar against the euro, lifted European stocks into positive territory and knocked German Bund futures.
Non-farm employment increased by 146,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said today, defying expectations of a sharp pullback related to superstorm Sandy.
Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at US$1,701.60 an ounce at 1439 GMT, rebounding from a one-month low of US$1,683.79, while US gold futures for December delivery were up US$1.40 an ounce at US$1,703.20.
“We’re retracing the losses from earlier. There was an opportunity to move on the lows,” VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said. “The dollar is still the biggest obstacle to gold... should the macro data continue to surprise to the upside, the Fed could reconsider what to do with easing.”
“1,715 is strategic resistance going into next week. If we don’t close below US$1,690, support will remain at US$1,690.”
The payrolls data was being closely watched ahead of a policy meeting of the Federal Reserve next week, at which the bank is forecast to announce a fresh round of Treasury bond purchases to maintain support for the weak US economy.
Many economists expect the US central bank to announce monthly bond purchases of US$45 billion after its policy gathering on December 11-12.
“(Today’s jobs data) doesn’t remove the need for stimulus but might convince the Fed to opt for a smaller program,” BK Asset Management managing director Kathy Lien said.
Gold prices are still down 0.6 per cent so far this week as uncertainty surrounding the US ‘fiscal cliff’, a US$600 billion package of tax hikes and spending cuts due to take effect in the new year, keeps buyers on the sidelines.
Gold ETFs hit record highs
Investors’ appetite for physically backed funds held firm, with holdings of gold exchange-traded funds hitting record highs at 76.133 million ounces yesterday.
Buyers in major gold consumer India took to the sidelines, however, as prices lifted from one-month lows.
“Demand is not very high today as prices have increased. In the festival (December) quarter there was some revival in demand,” Mayank Khemka, managing director of Delhi-based wholesaler Khemka Group, said.
Gold imports from Hong Kong to China, vying with India as the world’s number one buyer, fell to 47.478 tonnes in October, data from the Hong Kong government showed today, their lowest in ten months.
Silver was up 0.4 per cent at US$33.11 an ounce. Spot platinum was up 0.5 per cent at US$1,599 an ounce, while spot palladium was up 0.7 per cent at US$694.47 an ounce.
“Supply issues in South Africa have helped eliminate surpluses in all major platinum group metals markets,” Morgan Stanley said in its 2013 Commodities Outlook. “We expect deficit markets to continue in 2013, with upside benefits for prices.”
“Industrial demand remains firm, and supply is constrained by South African labor issues, reduced sales from Russian stocks and lower recycling rates,” it said. “Among the PGMs, we believe fundamentals are better for palladium than platinum.”
The platinum/palladium ratio, which measures the number of palladium ounces needed to buy an ounce of platinum, held near six-month lows at 2.31 as palladium outperformed, down from its 2012 high of 2.65 hit in October.
Palladium has been the best performer among the main precious metals this week, up 2.2 per cent, against a 0.2 per cent rise in platinum.
Its rise has taken it into overbought territory, however, with its 14-day relative strength index at 71.6, with any reading above 70 indicating overbought conditions. — Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment