Related Articles
Top Stories
Feb 13 2012 12:15
Miner Xstrata says it has brought forward maintenance on two furnaces to assist Eskom to save power.
Feb 13 2012 10:43
Although jobs were created, the economy is still 420 000 jobs short of the peak employment level before the 2009 global financial crisis, says Adcorp.
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.
Tokyo - Gold steadied above $1 100 an ounce on Friday after retreating from a record high the previous day, hit by a recovery in the dollar.
Bullion has gained more than 5% as it marked a new record high for six out of the eight sessions through Thursday, touching an all-time peak of $1 122.85 on the view the dollar would remain weak.
"Gold retreated from the record high of $1 122.85 hit early yesterday as the dollar recovered after lower-than-expected US weekly jobless claims enhanced hopes for the recovery of the world's largest economy," Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd said in a report on Friday.
Spot gold was at $1 105.90 per ounce at 03:14 GMT, up 0.2% from New York's notional close of $1 103.60.
Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at Fujitomi Co, said a decline in the oil price also encouraged profit taking.
Gold often moves in line with crude, both because it can be used as a hedge against oil-led inflation and as rising crude prices often increase interest in commodities as an asset class.
A decline was likely to be short-lived, however. "I think we'll see bargain hunting once gold prices fall below $1 100," said Saito. He said there was still a lot of excess money trying to find a home that was flowing into commodities markets rather than into investments.
US crude futures remained below $77 per barrel on Friday, after tumbling nearly 3% the previous day as growing US crude inventories stirred demand concerns.
Many analysts believe gold's strength is intact as the dollar is widely expected to remain under pressure.
US gold futures for December delivery were mostly unchanged at $1 106.5 per ounce. It rose to a record high of $1 123.4 on Thursday.
There was a revival in interest in silver with holdings in the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund hitting a record high.
The iShares Silver Trust rose 183.37 tonnes, or 2.1%, from the previous day to an all-time high of 8 923.52 tonnes as of November 12.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, on the other hand, said its holdings stood at 1 114.443 tonnes as of November 12, unchanged from the previous day.
South Africa, previously the world's top producer and now number three, said gold output fell 9.3% in volume terms in September compared to a year earlier.
The US dollar clung to gains in Asia on Friday after another sporadic bout of profit taking in riskier trades that has characterised the currency's eight-month bear trend.
- Reuters