Gold Steady After Advancing to Three-Week High on Demand Outlook

Jalatama news, Gold traded little changed after climbing to a three-week high as investors weighed the outlook for slowing investment demand against signs of increasing physical consumption in Asia.

Bullion for immediate delivery was at $1,237.82 an ounce at 8:34 a.m. in Singapore from $1,238.07 yesterday, when prices climbed to $1,248.51, the highest level since Dec. 16. Gold for February delivery was little changed at $1,237.70 on the Comex after dropping yesterday by more than $30 in about a minute to a low of $1,212.60, spurring a 10-second trading halt.

Gold tumbled 28 percent last year, the most since 1981, as some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value amid an equity rally and muted inflation. The Federal Reserve on Dec. 18 said it would reduce its monthly U.S. bond purchases to $75 billion from $85 billion, with minutes of the meeting to be released this week. The premium for immediate delivery in China was $22.44 an ounce today from $15.87 on Jan. 3.

Gold shipments to China from Hong Kong more than doubled to 1,017 metric tons in the first 11 months of the year, according to data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. China probably overtook India as the world’s biggest bullion consumer last year, the World Gold Council said.

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest bullion-backed exchange-traded product, held at 794.62 tons yesterday, the lowest level since January 2009, according to data on the fund’s website. A total of 552.6 tons was withdrawn last year.

Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $20.207 an ounce. Platinum lost 0.2 percent to $1,415.75 an ounce, while palladium advanced 0.1 percent to $739.40 an ounce.

(Source: Bloomberg)