Gold Futures Rises as Fragile U.S. Labor Market Bolsters Demand for Haven
Gold rose, capping the biggest quarterly gain in more than two years, as signs of a struggling U.S. labor market and a fragile economic recovery stoked demand for the metal as a store of value.
The U.S.’s rebound from the worst recession since the 1930s faces risks from the European-debt crisis, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said today. U.S. companies hired fewer workers in June than forecast, private-payroll data showed. Gold jumped 12 percent in the second quarter, the most since the third quarter of 2007.
“A mountain of sovereign debt in the Western world and growth concerns” are giving “rock-solid support” to gold, said Filip Petersson, an analyst at Swedish bank SEB AB’s commodity unit.
Gold futures for delivery in August rose $3.50, or 0.3 percent, to $1,245.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The metal gained 2.5 percent in June and is up 14 percent this year.
The price reached a record $1,266.50 on June 21. The metal also climbed to all-time highs this month in euros, U.K. pounds and Swiss francs.
Yesterday, assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s biggest exchange-traded fund backed by bullion, rose to a record 1,320.44 metric tons yesterday.
“Every bank around the world is printing money to help stimulate the economy,” said Michael K. Smith, the president of T&K Futures & Options in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Gold may reach $1,300 by the end of the year as demand rises for a hedge against “huge inflation,” he said.
Silver Climbs
Silver futures for September delivery climbed 7.3 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $18.708 an ounce. This quarter, the metal climbed 6.7 percent. That marked the sixth straight gain, the longest rally since the end of 1979.
In the second quarter, platinum dropped 6.7 percent and palladium declined 7.4 percent, snapping a string of gains in the previous five quarters.
Platinum futures for October delivery fell $17.80, or 1.1 percent, to $1,537.30 an ounce today on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal has climbed 4.5 percent this year.
Palladium futures for September delivery declined $10, or 2.2 percent, to $444.40 an ounce. The metal has advanced 8.7 percent this year.
To contact the reporters on this story: Yi Tian in New York at Ytian8@bloomberg.net; Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net.
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