LQwD FinTech Corp (LQWDF)

[the cork]

Gold at 1110.60 Copper at 3.0648 - Declines
in New York as Rebounding Dollar Curbs Demand

By Nicholas Larkin and Jae Hur

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Gold fell for the first time in three days in New York as a rebounding dollar curbed demand for the metal as an alternative investment.

The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, gained for the first time in three days, erasing a drop of as much as 0.4 percent. Gold, which earlier climbed to a two-week high, typically moves inversely to the U.S. currency.

Gold is “trading in an opposite direction to the U.S. currency, rather than on actual physical demand or its risk- defense qualities,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said in a report.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $4.80, or 0.4 percent, to $1,113.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex unit at 8:28 a.m. local time, erasing a gain of as much as 0.8 percent. Gold for immediate delivery in London was 0.2 percent lower at $1,111.82.

The metal increased to $1,118.50 an ounce in the morning “fixing” in London, used by some mining companies to sell production, from $1,111 at yesterday’s afternoon fixing.

“Price levels below $1,100 an ounce apparently attract buyers who consider this as a lucrative entry point,” Eugen Weinberg, a senior analyst with Commerzbank AG, wrote in a note to clients.

Slumping Dollar

Gold futures climbed for a ninth year in 2009, reaching a record $1,227.50 an ounce on Dec. 3 as the dollar slumped on record-low interest rates and a surge in government stimulus spending. Bullion fell in the prior three weeks as the dollar strengthened and the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European shares slid last month the most in 11 months.

The equity-market decline may worsen amid persistent U.S. joblessness and economic growth that trails economists’ forecasts, said Mohamed A. El-Erian, whose firm runs the world’s biggest mutual fund. Investors have wrongly priced in an “orderly” withdrawal of stimulus measures, a rebound in bank lending and coordinated government policy to restore growth, El- Erian, Pacific Investment Management Co.’s chief executive officer, wrote in a Bloomberg News column.

Bullion will average $1,135 an ounce this year, up from a previous forecast of $1,050, UBS AG said in a report yesterday. Newmont Mining Corp., the world’s second-largest gold producer by sales, reaffirmed its forecast for the metal to rise to $1,350 by the end of 2010.

SPDR Holdings

“I feel pretty confident that as things move forward, we will see continued support for the gold price,” CEO Richard T. O’Brien said today at the company’s $2.9 billion Boddington operation, Australia’s biggest gold mine. “No question it will be volatile, but we will see support.”

Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by bullion, were unchanged at 1,111.92 metric tons yesterday, according to the company’s Web site.

Silver for March delivery in New York fell 1 percent to $16.58. Platinum for April delivery lost 0.6 percent to $1,570 an ounce and palladium for March delivery slipped 0.6 percent to $442 an ounce.

Platinum and palladium are mainly used in automotive pollution-control devices and jewelry. Vehicle sales in the U.S. rose 6.3 percent in January, Autodata Corp. said yesterday.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aNVazHPeTjJ4