Gold Futures Top $1,750, Silver Rises as Dollar Declines
Gold futures topped $1,750 an ounce and silver climbed to a six-week high as the dollar’s drop spurred demand for the metals as alternative investments.
The greenback fell to a three-week low against a basket of major currencies as data showed German business confidence rose in November and speculation mounted that Europe’s policy makers will agree to keep aid flowing to Greece. Gold reached a five- week high.
“The dollar weakness is supporting gold,” Michael Smith, the president of T&K Futures & Options in Port St. Lucie, Florida, said in a telephone interview.
Gold futures for December delivery rose 1.3 percent to $1,751.40 at 12:45 p.m. on the Comex in New York. That’s the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Nov. 6. Earlier, the metal touched $1,755, the highest since Oct. 17.
Floor trading was closed yesterday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products rose to a record 2,605.3 metric tons on Nov. 21, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The U.S. Mint sold 67,000 ounces of American Eagle gold coins this month, exceeding the 59,000 ounces for all of October, data on its website showed.
Silver futures for March delivery gained 2.3 percent to $34.206 an ounce. Earlier, the price reached $34.25, the highest since Oct. 11.
Platinum futures for January delivery advanced 2.1 percent to $1,617.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while palladium futures for December delivery increased 2.5 percent to $667.60 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick McKiernan at pmckiernan@bloomberg.net
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