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Feb 13 2012 12:15
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Feb 13 2012 10:43
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Feb 13 2012 07:58
Greek lawmakers have approved a new round of drastic austerity measures after a long day of street battles between police and protesters left dozens injured.
Singapore - Gold slipped more than 1% on Monday as US lawmakers closed in on creating a $700bn government fund to buy bad debt, with investors also keen to book profits from last week's rally.
US lawmakers readied for a vote on creating the fund to alleviate the financial crisis while European authorities raced to the rescue of three troubled banks.
"I suspect it will weigh down on gold a little bit, but there will be further selling as risk aversion eases," said Darren Heathcote of Investec Australia in Sydney.
Spot gold traded at $875.75 an ounce, down $7.50 from New York's notional close on Friday, when it jumped to its highest in nearly 7 weeks to $911.15, due to uncertainties in the bailout plan.
It hit an intraday low of $868.85 on Monday - down 1.6% from New York's close.
"I think we're rangebound between $860 and probably about $920 at the moment. We're going to find some support by physical buyers," said Heathcote, referring to levels last seen in late July and late September.
Gold has bounced more than 18% since tumbling to $736 on September 11, its weakest in nearly a year. It also benefited from a wave of risk aversion after US investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.
"The market is likely to stabilise as more detailed news of the deal becomes available," he said.
The physical sector was mostly deserted, with many dealers in Indonesia and Malaysia already away to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday this week. Gold bars were quoted at a premium of $1 against spot London prices, unchanged from last week.
"I still receive some scraps but I guess people are watching the financial situation in Europe and the US bailout plan, which is not actually confirmed," said a dealer in Singapore.
Bullion holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, remained near a record at 724.63 tonnes.
The euro fell to $1.4497 on growing concerns about the financial system.
In industry news, the chief of metals consultants GFMS said gold should surge above $1 000 an ounce as the financial crisis fuels safe-haven fund buying, but may then come under pressure as fickle investors slow purchases.
Gold struck a record of $1 030.80 in March.
Platinum extended losses and fell as much as 2.8% as poor car sales sparked demand worries. Spot platinum traded at $1 098.50 an ounce, down $9.50, having hit a low of $1 076 an ounce.
Japan's Toyota has started to reduce production at a plant in China, the world's second-largest auto market, the Nikkei business daily said on Sunday.
Gold futures for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $6.7 an ounce to $881.8 an ounce.
- Reuters