Gold falls to one-week low
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
LONDON, May 18 (Bloomberg): Gold fell to a one-week low in London as stock advances and a rebound by the euro curbed demand for the metal as a haven asset.
European equities gained for the first time in three days as company earnings eased concern that measures to control the region's debt crisis will curb economic growth. The euro traded little changed against the dollar after yesterday sliding to the lowest level in more than four years. Holdings in the world's biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund rose to a record.
Gold "could be at risk to a correction as risk appetite begins to improve," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a report. Still, the increase in ETF holdings and bar and coin demand suggests "investors are still looking to diversify from fiat currencies and as a result we expect dips in gold and silver to be viewed as buying opportunities."
Gold for immediate delivery lost as much as $12, or 1 per cent, to $1,210.45 an ounce and traded at $1,215.75 at 9:11 a.m. in London. The metal reached a record $1,249.40 on May 14. Bullion for June delivery slipped 1 per cent to $1,215.80 on the Comex in New York.
Gold has rallied 11 per cent this year, following nine straight years of annual gains, as investors sought safety from Europe's fiscal turmoil. Euro area policy makers last week unveiled an unprecedented loan package worth nearly $1 trillion and a program of bond purchases to forestall defaults by countries including Greece, Spain and Portugal.
European equities gained for the first time in three days as company earnings eased concern that measures to control the region's debt crisis will curb economic growth. The euro traded little changed against the dollar after yesterday sliding to the lowest level in more than four years. Holdings in the world's biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund rose to a record.
Gold "could be at risk to a correction as risk appetite begins to improve," James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com in London, said in a report. Still, the increase in ETF holdings and bar and coin demand suggests "investors are still looking to diversify from fiat currencies and as a result we expect dips in gold and silver to be viewed as buying opportunities."
Gold for immediate delivery lost as much as $12, or 1 per cent, to $1,210.45 an ounce and traded at $1,215.75 at 9:11 a.m. in London. The metal reached a record $1,249.40 on May 14. Bullion for June delivery slipped 1 per cent to $1,215.80 on the Comex in New York.
Gold has rallied 11 per cent this year, following nine straight years of annual gains, as investors sought safety from Europe's fiscal turmoil. Euro area policy makers last week unveiled an unprecedented loan package worth nearly $1 trillion and a program of bond purchases to forestall defaults by countries including Greece, Spain and Portugal.