BLBG: Gold Advances to Pare Worst Weekly Performance in Seven Weeks
By Glenys Sim
March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Gold gained for a second day, paring the biggest weekly decline in seven weeks, as the dollar weakened after concerns about Greece’s budget deficit abated.
Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.4 percent to $1,113.80 an ounce, before trading at $1,112.33 at 2:01 p.m. in Singapore. Bullion has slipped 2 percent this week, the most since the week ending Jan. 22, as demand for a hedge against depreciating currencies slowed after the euro rebounded.
“The ongoing improvement in credit and sovereign debt markets and stability in the euro appears to be taking its toll on the yellow metal,” David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., wrote in an e-mail.
Gold dropped to a two-week low of $1,100.85 an ounce yesterday on speculation governments will pare economic stimulus measures which helped bullion climb 24 percent last year. The precious metal is also lower this week after China said gold probably won’t be the country’s main reserve investment.
The euro headed for a weekly gain against the dollar on optimism Greece’s debt woes are over. The currency was at $1.3691 from $1.3681 yesterday. Gold priced in euros fell 2.5 percent this week, heading for its worst week since April 2009.
Silver, platinum and palladium were little changed at $17.180 an ounce, $1,609.35 an ounce and $460.25 an ounce respectively.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net