Futures Pros – Gold futures erased gains on Wednesday, retreating from a one-week high, after Portugal completed a successful bond sale, easing concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis and reducing the safe-haven appeal of the precious metal. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,378.85 a troy ounce during early U.S. trade, slumping 0.15%. It earlier rose to USD1,386.95 a troy ounce, the highest price since January 4. Earlier in the day, Portugal sold the maximum amount of EUR1.25 billion bonds at auction. The country’s government debt agency said the average yield on the three-year Treasury bill was 5.4%, up from 4% in the last sale, while the yield on nine-year bonds was 6.7%, down slightly from 6.8% at the last auction. The agency said high demand meant Portugal could have sold more than double the amount offered. Also Wednesday, the European Union Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, writing in the Financial Times said that the EU’s main bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility should be "reinforced" and its scope should be "widened." Elsewhere, the World Gold Council said in a report earlier in the day that gold imports by India jumped to a record high in 2010, amid increased investor demand for the precious metal as a safe haven. According to the data, India imported 800 metric tons of gold in 2010, up from 557 tons imported in 2009. Commenting on the report, India’s WGC representative Ajay Mitra said that he expected bullion purchases by the country to remain “strong” in 2011, while adding that “price is no longer a factor”. India is the world’s largest buyer of gold. Meanwhile, silver for March delivery climbed 0.09% to trade at USD29.56 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery surged 1.30% to trade at USD4.407 a pound during early U.S. trade.

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