BLBG: Copper Gains in Shanghai, on Track for Best Week in Two Months
By Glenys Sim
Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose for a third day in Asia, on track for a fourth weekly gain as a weaker dollar boosted investor demand for the precious metal as a store of value. Platinum jumped to a 13-month high.
Bullion is up 0.7 percent this week as Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six trading partners including the euro and yen, slid 0.4 percent. Some investors buy gold as a hedge against a declining U.S. currency.
“Gold prices will continue to be influenced heavily by U.S. dollar movements,” HSBC Securities analyst James Steel, wrote in a note e-mailed today. “Should the U.S. dollar weaken, gold is likely to remain well-bid.”
Gold for immediate delivery gained as much as 0.4 percent to $1.064.57 an ounce, and traded at $1,061.10 at 2:14 p.m. Singapore time. The metal reached a record $1,070.80 an ounce on Oct. 14. December-delivery gold added 0.4 percent to $1,063.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Thirteen of 25 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, or 52 percent, said bullion would rise next week, as investors seek an alternative investment to a weakening dollar. Eight forecast lower prices and four were neutral.
The dollar tumbled to a 14-month low against the euro and is set for a third weekly drop ahead of reports that are forecast to show German business confidence increased and sales of existing U.S. homes rose.
Immediate-delivery platinum gained as much as 0.8 percent to $1,377.75 an ounce, the highest price since Sept. 8, 2008. It traded at $1,371.75 an ounce at 2:39 p.m. in Singapore, up 2.1 percent this week.
Platinum Jumps
“After gold’s run to a record, some of the focus is now shifting into the platinum group metals and other precious metals,” said First Futures Brokerage Co. analyst Yang Zhenqiang. to $334.02 an ounce.
Rhodium for immediate delivery added $50, or 2.8 percent, to $1,850 an ounce yesterday, according to prices from Johnson Matthey Plc on Bloomberg. That’s the highest since October 2008.
Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver was little changed at $17.68 an ounce, and palladium added 0.3 percent to $337.25 an ounce.
