Gold, Platinum Rise in London, Snapping Three-Day Decline as Dollar Falls
Gold, Platinum Snap Three-Day Decline in London as Dollar Falls
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen
April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Gold and platinum rose, snapping a three-day decline in London as the dollar traded near a record low against the euro, spurring demand for precious metals as a hedge against further declines in the U.S. currency.
Platinum gained the most in three weeks and gold by the most in a week before a German report that will probably show rising investor confidence, and suggest Europe is weathering financial-market turmoil better than the U.S. Inflation concerns may also stop the European Central Bank lowering interest rates after the Federal Reserve cut 2 percentage points this year.
``The euro is a very strong factor today,'' Gerry Schubert, a director at Fortis in London, said today by phone. ``Gold will also be supported by inflationary pressure.''
Gold for immediate delivery advanced $8.79, or 1 percent, to $933.23 an ounce as of 9:10 a.m. in London. It has climbed 12 percent so far this year. Gold for June delivery added $7.20, or 0.8 percent, to $935.90 in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Platinum rose $36, or 1.8 percent, to $1,999 an ounce. The metal, used in autocatalysts and jewelry, gained as much as 2.2 percent, the most since March 25 based on closing prices.
An index of German investor and analyst expectations rose to minus 30 from minus 32 in March, the ZEW Center for European Economic Research will say at 11 a.m. in Mannheim, according to economists Bloomberg surveyed.
Demand from India, China, the Middle East and Russia will keep pushing gold prices higher, Citigroup Inc. analyst John Hill wrote yesterday in a report.
Forces Intact
``The forces that have propelled gold for the past five years are intact,'' he wrote.
Gold for immediate delivery will average $900 an ounce this year, compared with $697.61 last year, Hill wrote, reaffirming a Feb. 4 forecast. The precious metal will average $950 next year.
Citigroup raised its forecast for platinum to $2,005 an ounce and for palladium to $443 an ounce.
Palladium for immediate delivery rallied $5.75, or 1.2 percent, to $460.75 an ounce. Silver gained 20.62 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $17.9312 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 15, 2008 04:46 EDT
