SINGAPORE, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Gold inched up on Tuesday,
after two straight days of losses, but a strong dollar as a
result of worries over the euro zone debt crisis is expected to
keep bullion under pressure.
Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds hit a record
high on Monday, suggesting that investor interest in bullion
remained strong.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold edged up 0.2 percent to $1,777.39 an
ounce by 0027 GMT, rebounding from a one-week low of $1,766.14
hit on Monday. Gold fell almost 1 percent over the last two
sessions, its sharpest two-day decline since August.
* U.S. gold also crawled up 0.2 percent to
$1,779.50.
* Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary
Fund held a “thorough and robust” debate on Greece on Monday,
but failed to make significant progress in deciding how best to
get the country back on track with its bailout programme.
* Meanwhile, Spain has not yet requested a bailout, though
market participants said it is just a matter of time before
Madrid asks for international aid.
* The outlook for the world’s major economies including the
United States and Germany has deteriorated slightly, although
China may be stabilising after a recent slowdown, the OECD said
on Monday.
* The World Bank cut its economic growth forecasts for the
East Asia and Pacific region on Monday and said there was a risk
the slowdown in China could worsen and last longer than many
analysts have forecast.
* Concerns about the global economy, in addition to data
from last Friday showing improving U.S. job market, lifted the
dollar index from a two-week low hit last Friday.
* Holdings of gold ETFs rose to a historical high of 74.73
million ounces by Oct. 7.
* South Africa’s local government workers’ union said on
Monday it would launch a strike over pay in the next few days,
the first sign of a wave of labour unrest in Africa’s biggest
economy spreading from the mines into the public sector.
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MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks slipped in light trading on Monday, pulling
back from recent five-year highs ahead of an earnings season
expected to be weak.
* The euro was little changed on Tuesday, after slipping
from a two-week high against the dollar and yen in the previous
session as worries about the euro zone debt crisis persisted.
DATA/EVENTS
1145 US ICSC chain stores yy Weekly
0730 EZ ECB’S Draghi speaks, Brussels
1255 US Redbook weekly retail sales
1400 US Employment trend index, Sept
PRICES
Precious metals prices 0027 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg Volume
Spot Gold 1777.39 3.10 +0.17 13.66
Spot Silver 34.10 0.14 +0.41 23.15
Spot Platinum 1691.20 4.40 +0.26 21.41
Spot Palladium 654.70 0.60 +0.09 0.34
COMEX GOLD DEC2 1779.50 3.80 +0.21 13.58 2788
COMEX SILVER DEC2 34.15 0.13 +0.38 22.32 632
Euro/Dollar 1.2978
Dollar/Yen 78.33
COMEX gold and silver contracts show the most active months
(Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
