Gold, little changed in London, may decline on stronger dollar
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
LONDON, June 22 (Bloomberg): Gold, little changed in London today, may decline as a stronger dollar and sliding oil prices erode the metal's attraction as a hedge against a lower US currency and faster inflation.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against six counterparts, rose as much as 0.6 per cent after climbing last week. Crude oil fell for a second day, sliding as much as 0.7 per cent to $69.05 a barrel.
"The dollar is stronger, and that is weighing on the metals," said Alexander Zumpfe, a precious-metals trader at Hanau, Germany-based Heraeus MetallhanCLKdels GmbH. Oil below $70 a barrel reduced demand for bullion as a hedge, he said.
Gold for immediate delivery slipped 73 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $933.32 an ounce at 9:15 a.m. local time. Futures for August delivery lost $2.50, or 0.3 per cent, to $933.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division.
"There is no new money flowing in," Zumpfe said. "Physical investors are not buying at current levels. Prices are stabilising."
Bullion holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal, were unchanged at 1,132.15 tonnes as of June 19, according to the company's Web site. That's the longest period without an increase or decline since the span from Oct. 27 to Nov. 11.
Platinum for immediate delivery dropped 0.9 per cent to $1,198.50 an ounce, while palladium eased 1.1 per cent to $243.75 an ounce. Palladium held in ETF Securities Ltd.'s exchange- traded commodities shrank from a record 319,451 ounces to 316,829 ounces, according to the company's Web site. Silver retreated 1.3 per cent to $14.045 an ounce, paring this year's advance to 23 per cent.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against six counterparts, rose as much as 0.6 per cent after climbing last week. Crude oil fell for a second day, sliding as much as 0.7 per cent to $69.05 a barrel.
"The dollar is stronger, and that is weighing on the metals," said Alexander Zumpfe, a precious-metals trader at Hanau, Germany-based Heraeus MetallhanCLKdels GmbH. Oil below $70 a barrel reduced demand for bullion as a hedge, he said.
Gold for immediate delivery slipped 73 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $933.32 an ounce at 9:15 a.m. local time. Futures for August delivery lost $2.50, or 0.3 per cent, to $933.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division.
"There is no new money flowing in," Zumpfe said. "Physical investors are not buying at current levels. Prices are stabilising."
Bullion holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange-traded fund backed by the metal, were unchanged at 1,132.15 tonnes as of June 19, according to the company's Web site. That's the longest period without an increase or decline since the span from Oct. 27 to Nov. 11.
Platinum for immediate delivery dropped 0.9 per cent to $1,198.50 an ounce, while palladium eased 1.1 per cent to $243.75 an ounce. Palladium held in ETF Securities Ltd.'s exchange- traded commodities shrank from a record 319,451 ounces to 316,829 ounces, according to the company's Web site. Silver retreated 1.3 per cent to $14.045 an ounce, paring this year's advance to 23 per cent.