RPT-PRECIOUS-Gold slips 1 pct after Fed raises discount rate

Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:52pm EST

 (Repeats to additional subscribers)
 * Gold down more than 1 pct on rising dollar
 * Oil slips $1, SPDR holdings unchanged    
 (Updates prices, adds quotes)
 By Lewa Pardomuan
 SINGAPORE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Gold dropped more than 1
percent on Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it was
raising the interest it charges banks for emergency loans,
sending the dollar higher and dimming the appeal of bullion as
an alternative investment.
 But weaker prices could attract buying from the jewellery
sector and help gold resist pressure from declines in oil
prices, and also worries about an increase in supply after the
IMF said it planned to sell more bullion to raise money.
 Spot gold XAU= was at $1,104.65 an ounce by 0307 GMT,
down $6.75 an ounce, having hit an intraday low of $1,098.55 an
ounce. It hovered nearly 10 percent below a lifetime high above
$1,200 an ounce struck in early December.
 U.S. gold futures for April delivery GCJO fell $12.7 an
ounce to $1,106.00 after falling below $1,100 an ounce as the
dollar rose to a 9-month high against the euro.
 "You have two stimulus measures working against gold here.
One is the currency impact, and two is the safe-have aspect
which has been a support for gold recently at the expense of a
firmer dollar," said Mark Pervan, senior commodities analyst at
ANZ in Melbourne.
 "I'd say sentiment is neutral at the moment. You've got
pressure from a firmer U.S. dollar but support from, I think,
increased risk aversion," said Pervan, adding that markets were
still nervous about a debt crisis in the euro zone.
 Debt default worries in Europe had pushed investors toward
gold, sending the price of bullion in euro terms XAUEUR=R to
a record high above 825 euros an ounce this week.
 Investors use gold as a hedge against financial turbulence
and inflation. Gold generally has an inverse relationship with
the dollar.
 The dollar rallied and the euro hit a nine-month low on
Friday after the Fed's move to raise discount rate stoked
expectations that it was moving towards normalisation of
monetary policy. [USD/]
 But the dollar later trimmed gains after St. Louis Federal
Reserve President James Bullard said the market's belief in a
high probability of rate hikes this year is "overblown."
[ID:nN18246045]
 "I think we are now looking at a temporary correction to
test lower levels," said Wong Eng Soon, an investment analyst
at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
 "I am keen to watch the $1,050 level. It was the level
which India paid to buy 200 tonnes," said Wong, referring to
bullion India bought from the International Monetary Fund late
last year.
 The IMF said it will soon begin phased sales of 191.3
tonnes of gold to the open market, a move that has called into
question demand for bullion from official sector buyers.
[ID:nSGE61H00R]
 The Fund said the sales, which are part of a programme
launched last year to boost IMF resources for lending, "will be
conducted in a phased manner over time" to avoid disruptions to
the gold market.
 Other markets were hit by the Fed news, with U.S. crude
prices falling $1 to $78.06 a barrel, while Japan's Nikkei
share average dipped 0.7 percent. [O/R] [.T]
 The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR
Gold Trust (GLD), said its holdings stood at 1,109.424 tonnes
by Feb. 18, unchanged from the previous business day.
[GOL/SPDR]  
 Precious metals prices at 0307 GMT
 Metal             Last    Change  Pct chg  YTD pct chg
Turnover
 Spot Gold        1104.65   -6.75   -0.61      0.82
 Spot Silver        15.84    0.00   +0.00     -5.88
 Spot Platinum    1505.00   -9.00   -0.59      2.59
 Spot Palladium    427.00   -2.50   -0.58      5.30
 TOCOM Gold       3268.00   33.00   +1.02      0.28       
52624
 TOCOM Platinum   4427.00   25.00   +0.57      1.05        
9397
 TOCOM Silver       47.30    0.60   +1.28     -8.51         
732
 TOCOM Palladium  1253.00    4.00   +0.32      7.55         
191
 Euro/Dollar       1.3482
 Dollar/Yen         91.78
 TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
 (Editing by Michael Urquhart)






































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