*Chick$ with Pick$

[lady luck]

Gold futures hold gains in electronic trading

By Sarah Turner and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) — Gold futures held steady at higher levels on Monday, following recording their biggest one-day advance since August in the previous session, amid investor risk-aversion and greater odds for further U.S. monetary easing by the Federal Reserve.

Gold for August delivery GCQ2 -0.27% rose $4 to $1,624.50 an ounce in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold prices spiked 3.7% to begin June, after having skidded 6% in May. For fans of the metal, that's a mere pause before the next leg of a move higher. But for skeptics, it's a sign that gold's latest burst of popularity has ended.

On Friday, gold rallied 3.7%, adding $57.90 to settle at $1,622.10 an ounce in New York trading.

That move marked the largest single-session percentage and point gain for a most-active contract since August 2011, according FactSet Research data. Read more on Friday's gold move.

The surge followed much weaker-than-expected U.S. payrolls data, and “immediately talk of more quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve began,” said Jonathan Robinson, strategist at Icap.

More monetary stimulus is widely expected to translate into a boost for gold prices, as investors worried about currency debasement seek an alternative store of wealth.


Riskier assets, such as equities, took a pounding in Asia overnight, following on the U.S. data and a survey out of China showing the services sector expanded at its weakest pace in more than a year.

In Europe, German stocks fell on downbeat the U.S. and Asia data, but banks rose across the Continent on hopes of a bailout plan for the region’s institutions. Spanish stocks were a major beneficiary of this, with the IBEX 35 index XX:IBEX +2.73% rallying 2.7%, led by its heavyweight banks.

Among other metals, platinum for July delivery PLN2 +0.19% rose $8.20, or 0.6%, to $1,441.40 an ounce. July silver SIN2 -0.90% was flat at $28.52 an ounce, while July copper HGN2 -0.88% fell 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.29 per pound.