Gold headed for a fifth weekly drop in the worst run since January after U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly fell, boosting speculation that the Federal Reserve will taper stimulus.
Bullion
for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.3 percent to $1,319.99 an ounce and
was at $1,322.28 at 8:47 a.m. in Singapore. The decline puts bullion in London
on course for the first monthly loss since June. Gold for December delivery was
0.2 percent lower at $1,322 an ounce on the Comex.
First-time
claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 5,000 to 305,000 last week, Labor
Department data showed yesterday, compared with the 325,000 median projection
in a Bloomberg survey. Gold has dropped 21 percent this year as speculation
increased that the Federal Reserve will curb its $85 billion in monthly bond
purchases and equities rallied.
Twenty-four
of 41 economists surveyed by Bloomberg last week said the Fed will pare
stimulus in December. The central bank unexpectedly left the program unchanged
last week, spurring a 4.1 percent rally in gold on Sept. 18. Bullion rose 70
percent from December 2008 to June 2011 as the Fed pumped more than $2 trillion
into the financial system by buying debt.
(Source: Bloomberg)
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