NY gold and silver stretch higher on fund buying Tue Apr 19, 2005 11:46 AM ET
NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. gold futures carved out four-week highs Tuesday morning on fund buying prompted by a dropping dollar, and dealers said the metal was poised to rise further after breaking above resistance.
Silver prices also got a leg up as speculators bid up the precious metals, which were more attractive with the U.S. currency falling.
June delivery gold (GCM5: Quote, Profile, Research) on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division was up $4.90 at $433.90 an ounce by 11:17 a.m. EDT (1517 GMT), trading from $428.10 to $434.50 which was its priciest since March 23.
"We just took out the key resistance number, which was $432.40, and now I'm looking for maybe $437.50 shortly," said Scott Meyers, an analyst at Pioneer Futures.
Meyers said gold prices were working their way higher on an influx of fund buying after the market got technically oversold late last week.
The contract has risen for three straight days since bottoming at $423.50 last Thursday.
Traders said currency moves remained the market's major focus and safe-haven buying due to volatility in equities and crude oil markets was less of a factor for gold than it was on Monday.
"Gold is up on the day with all commodities. I think it is all dollar-related," said a New York gold desk trader. "I don't think it is equity-related at this point."
Weakness in the U.S. currency makes dollar-priced gold a better buy for investors holding foreign money.
The dollar fell after softer-then-expected U.S. economic data indicated the Federal Reserve can maintain its pace of measured interest rate increases.
The U.S. Labor Department said producer prices rose steeply on surging energy costs. The Producer price Index shot up 0.7 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3044 by midmorning from below $1.30 earlier.
Gold traders awaited reports on U.S. consumer prices on Wednesday, for any signs of building inflation pressure. Such data could raise chances for more aggressive U.S. interest rate increases.
Spot gold climbed to $431.70/432.50 an ounce from Monday's close in New York at $426.90/7.70. The afternoon fix in London was $427.45.
May silver (SIK5: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 18.0 cents to $7.225 an ounce, moving from $7.01 to $7.265 which marked a one-week high. Spot silver fetched $7.19/22 against $7.01/04 previously. The fix was at $7.055.
NYMEX July platinum (PLN5: Quote, Profile, Research) was up $6 at $867.50 an ounce. Spot platinum reached $865/870.
June palladium (PAM5: Quote, Profile, Research) gained $1.20 to $201.60 an ounce. Spot palladium was quoted at $199/203.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
