Gold
traded near a one-week high as investors weighed the implications for U.S.
monetary stimulus of the stalemate between President Barack Obama and the
Republicans over the debt limit and government shutdown.
Bullion
for immediate delivery fell as much as 0.2 percent to $1,320.84 an ounce and
traded at $1,322.59 at 8:38 a.m. in Singapore. Prices climbed to $1,329.11
yesterday, the highest level since Oct. 1, when the partial government closure
started.
Obama
reiterated that he won’t negotiate with Republicans even as Treasury Secretary
Jacob J. Lew warned that Congress needs to pass an increase to the debt limit
by Oct. 17 or risk defaulting. While gold has rebounded from an eight-week low
of $1,277.15 on Oct. 2, the metal has slumped 21 percent this year on
expectations that the Fed will taper its $85 billion-a-month of bond-buying as
the economy improves.
The
first shutdown in 17 years delayed economic releases, including the monthly
payrolls report and the jobless rate, which were scheduled Oct. 4. Atlanta Fed
President Dennis Lockhart said the shortage of data “would tend to make me
somewhat more cautious” about cutting the pace of bond buying.
(Source: Bloomberg)
No comments:
Post a Comment