Gold price tallies loss of more than 3% in four sessions
San Francisco (Aug 27) Gold futures registered a fourth straight day of losses, settling lower as a stronger dollar and a rally in global markets dulled the metal’s investment appeal.
Gold for December delivery GCZ5, -0.21% lost $2, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,122.60 an ounce on Comex after trading as high as $1,128.50. The settlement was the lowest since Aug. 18.
Gold has lost a total of 3.2% from Friday’s settlement of $1,159.60. Analysts have said that as investors searched for cash to cover margin calls, gold hasn’t lived up to its billing as a haven asset even as a recent rout in global stocks, sparked by China fears, gripped the market.
Also weighing on gold was a second estimate of gross domestic product from the Commerce Department, which showed that second-quarter growth in the U.S. economy was revised higher to 3.7%. The better-than-expected estimate points to a stronger economy, delivering a fillip to the dollar DXY, +0.49% and raising the potential for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest-rate hike—both of which can send gold prices lower.
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“The 1,000-point drop in the Dow [intraday] on Monday and the extremely high stock-market volatility [this week] should have boosted the appeal of gold like the other safe-haven assets,” Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at FOREX.com, told MarketWatch in an email. But “gold’s counter-intuitive price action this week strongly suggests that the metal is heading to significantly lower levels.”
What’s more, “news that the U.S. GDP grew more strongly than expected in Q2 will increase calls for a 2015 rate hike,” he said. “This may help sustain the dollar’s kickback rally this week, which should be further bad news for gold.”
Other metals ended higher as prospects for Chinese metals demand started to improve. September silver SIU5, +2.49% gained 37.6 cents, or 2.7%, to $14.417 an ounce. September high-grade copper HGU5, +3.60% added 8.6 cents, or 3.8%, to $2.334 a pound.
October platinum PLV5, +1.82% settled at $1,006 an ounce, up $25.80, or 2.6%, to extend a modest gain from a day earlier, while September palladium PAU5, +6.52% rose $38.96, or 7.4%, to $568.60 an ounce, rebounding from Wednesday’s decline.
Source: MarketWatch
