BI: Mining stocks gain as gold hits new all-time high
INTERNATIONAL. The price of gold climbed to a fresh all-time high above US$1,133 on strong investment demand driven by speculation that the dollar will extend a decline.
“Investors are taking shelter in gold,” Wallace Ng, chief dealer with Fortis Bank in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg. “I see gold rising to US$1,300 an ounce. It’s not an unreasonable call at all if you look at how the dollar behaves.”
Mining stocks dominated the blue-chip risers board as the London FTSE 100 Index built on its year-long high seen at the close on Friday night.
The weaker dollar and an upbeat assessment of future platinum values from miner Lonmin also powered stocks in the sector by as much as 5%.
The FTSE 100 Index climbed 50 points to 5346.3 in the first hour of trading.
Lonmin led the way with a rise of 78p to 1670p, while Xstrata added 48p to 1062p and Rio Tinto lifted 126p to 3259p.
