Gold Rallies to a 16-Week High as Fed May Add Stimulus
Gold advanced to the highest in more than four months amid speculation that the U.S. will take additional steps to spur economic growth, boosting the appeal of bullion as an inflation hedge. Platinum extended a rally.
Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 31- Aug. 1 meeting showed that “many members” believed more monetary accommodation would be needed unless the recovery picks up. Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by gold rose to a record, Bloomberg data shows. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities rose to the highest since May 2.
“Gold is exploding today as inflation concerns are back,” Adam Klopfenstein, the senior market strategist at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “A combination of rising commodity prices and the chances of more easing coming in the U.S. is stoking inflation worries.”
Gold futures for December delivery climbed 2 percent to settle at $1,672.80 an ounce at 1:38 p.m. on the Comex in New York after earlier jumping to $1,677.50, the highest for a most- active contract since April 13.
The metal rose above the 200-day moving average yesterday for the first time since March. Some investors look at the signal as an important technical level, and that may have spurred more buying, Commerzbank AG said today.
Silver futures for December delivery rose 3 percent to $30.542 an ounce in New York, after reaching $30.87, the highest since May 2.
Longest Stretch
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for October delivery gained 1.9 percent to $1,554.90 an ounce after reaching $1,563.60, the highest for a most active contract since May 3. Prices increased for a sixth session, the longest stretch since Oct. 28.
About a fifth of global platinum production capacity was idled in South Africa today as the nation held a day of mourning for 44 miners and policemen killed in the deadliest police violence since apartheid ended.
Palladium futures for September delivery advanced 4.4 percent to $656.60 an ounce on the Nymex, the biggest gain this year.
To contact the reporters on this story: Maria Kolesnikova in London at mkolesnikova@bloomberg.net; Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
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