SINGAPORE, April 16 (Reuters) – Gold edged lower on Monday,
extending losses made the previous session, as the dollar
continued to firm on worries about Spanish debt yields and the
pace of Chinese economic growth.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold lost 0.4 percent to $1,652.29 an ounce by
0022 GMT, after losing nearly 1 percent in the previous session.
* U.S. gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,653.40.
* Spain’s government bond yields rose and the cost of
insuring its debt hit an all-time high on Friday as record
borrowing by its banks from the ECB underscored fears about the
country’s finances.
* But European Central Bank Governing Council Member Klaas
Knot said he does not expect the ECB to pump more three-year
liquidity into the euro zone and hopes the bank never has to buy
bonds again, although it still has the tools available.
* Weaker-than-expected economic growth in China in the first
quarter weighed on financial markets, at a time that the U.S.
recovery momentum seems to be slowing.
* Spot silver dropped to a one-week low of $31.27 an
ounce, before recovering slightly to $31.36. The metal slid 2.5
percent last week.
* Speculators trimmed their net long exposure in gold in the
week ended April 10, said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading
Commission.
* Spot platinum fell to $1,569 an ounce, its lowest
in more than two months. It traded at $1,570.49.
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MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks closed their worst two-week slide since
November with a selloff on Friday as disappointing China growth
data sparked worries the global recovery was flagging.
* The euro eased to fresh one-week lows against the dollar
on Monday, extending a broad pullback started late last week
when worries about Europe’s debt crisis saw Spanish bonds come
under renewed pressure.
DATA/EVENTS
0900 EZ Eurostat trade nsa, EUR Feb
1230 U.S. Retail sales mm Mar
1230 U.S. New York Fed Empire State Survey April
1400 U.S. NAHB housing market indx Apr
1400 U.S. Business inventories mm Feb
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0022 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1652.29 -6.29 -0.38 5.66
Spot Silver 31.36 -0.10 -0.32 13.25
Spot Platinum 1570.49 -24.51 -1.54 12.74
Spot Palladium 639.50 0.40 +0.06 -1.99
COMEX GOLD JUN2 1653.40 -6.80 -0.41 5.53 2600
COMEX SILVER MAY2 31.36 -0.03 -0.10 12.34 822
Euro/Dollar 1.3044
Dollar/Yen 80.95
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
