1403.20 - Gold Advances Above $1,400 as U.S. Payrolls Increase Less Than Estimated
By Nicholas Larkin - Dec 3, 2010 6:37 AM PT
Gold climbed above $1,400 an ounce in New York as the dollar weakened after U.S. job additions trailed economists’ forecasts, boosting demand for a protection of wealth.
U.S. employers added fewer positions than the most pessimistic projection of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, and the jobless rate rose to 9.8 percent, the highest level since April, Labor Department figures showed. Gold futures, which usually move inversely to the greenback, reached a record $1,424.30 an ounce on Nov. 9.
“Ongoing economic uncertainty and the possibility of more quantitative easing needed to counter high unemployment and stagnation in an economic recovery are a solid ground for gold investment,” said Bayram Dincer, an analyst at LGT Capital Management in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland.
Gold futures for February delivery added as much as $14.70, or 1.1 percent, to $1,404 an ounce and traded at $1,399.60 at 9:09 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices are up 2.6 percent this week. The metal for immediate delivery in London was 0.9 percent higher at $1,398.25.
Payrolls increased by 39,000 positions last month after a revised 172,000 increase the prior month, the Labor Department said. The U.S. unemployment rate has held at 9.5 percent or higher since July 2009. It reached 10.1 percent in October 2009, the most since June 1983.
Gold also gained this week on concern about Europe’s debt crisis and on speculation China, the world’s second-biggest user of gold after India, will consume more of the metal.
China Imports
China’s gold imports jumped almost fivefold in the first 10 months from the entire amount last year as concern about rising inflation increased gold’s appeal, the Shanghai Gold Exchange said yesterday. China central bank adviser Xia Bin said the country should consider adding to its gold reserve as a long- term strategy to pave the way for the yuan’s internationalization, according to a commentary he wrote in the China Business News today.
“In the mid- and longer-term, of course, I think China is the biggest bullish factor for gold prices,” said Yuichi Ikemizu, head of commodity trading at Standard Bank Plc in Tokyo.
Silver for March delivery in New York added as much as 1.8 percent to $29.09 an ounce, the highest level since Nov. 9, when it reached a 30-year high of $29.34. Prices were last at $28.97, and may peak near $35 next year on strong investment demand and continuing growth in industrial consumption, Philip Klapwijk, chairman of London-based researcher GFMS Ltd., said today in Shanghai.
Palladium for March delivery gained 0.5 percent to $767.80 an ounce, after yesterday reaching $773.90, the highest price since April 2001. Platinum for January delivery rose 0.5 percent to $1,721 an ounce.
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