Gold ends four-day advance as some investors sell near $1,000
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
LONDON, Sept. 7 (Bloomberg): Gold dropped, snapping a four-day advance, as some investors sold holdings after bullion surged close to the highest this year.
Bullion jumped 4.1 per cent last week, the steepest weekly gain since April, as the Dollar Index declined, reversing a 0.4 per cent advance the previous week.
"There is growing interest in profit-taking after gold neared the $1,000 level," said Jang Joong Shik, head of precious metals trading with Hyundai Futures Co. in Seoul. "The dollar will keep a weak tone, which combined with inflationary concerns, will power a further rise in the metal."
Gold for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.3 per cent to $991.28 an ounce before trading at $994.25 at 3 p.m. Singapore time. The metal has advanced 13 per cent this year.
Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their net-long position in New York gold futures in the week ended Sep. 1, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.
Speculative long positions, or bets prices will increase, exceeded short positions by 184,501 contracts on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Washington- based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report.
"The price increase is of speculative nature, but gold will be able to temporarily break through the $1,000 mark," Eugen Weinberg, a senior analyst with Commerzbank AG, wrote in a Sept. 4 note. "Currently, there is insufficient fundamental support to allow for a sustained rise beyond this level."
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, fell 0.38 metric tons to 1,077.63 tons on Sept. 4, according to data on the company's Web site.
Among other precious metals, silver added 0.7 per cent to $16.35 an ounce, platinum rose 0.6 per cent to $1,262 an ounce and palladium was unchanged at $292.75 an ounce.
Bullion jumped 4.1 per cent last week, the steepest weekly gain since April, as the Dollar Index declined, reversing a 0.4 per cent advance the previous week.
"There is growing interest in profit-taking after gold neared the $1,000 level," said Jang Joong Shik, head of precious metals trading with Hyundai Futures Co. in Seoul. "The dollar will keep a weak tone, which combined with inflationary concerns, will power a further rise in the metal."
Gold for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.3 per cent to $991.28 an ounce before trading at $994.25 at 3 p.m. Singapore time. The metal has advanced 13 per cent this year.
Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their net-long position in New York gold futures in the week ended Sep. 1, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.
Speculative long positions, or bets prices will increase, exceeded short positions by 184,501 contracts on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Washington- based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report.
"The price increase is of speculative nature, but gold will be able to temporarily break through the $1,000 mark," Eugen Weinberg, a senior analyst with Commerzbank AG, wrote in a Sept. 4 note. "Currently, there is insufficient fundamental support to allow for a sustained rise beyond this level."
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, fell 0.38 metric tons to 1,077.63 tons on Sept. 4, according to data on the company's Web site.
Among other precious metals, silver added 0.7 per cent to $16.35 an ounce, platinum rose 0.6 per cent to $1,262 an ounce and palladium was unchanged at $292.75 an ounce.