Gold Poised for First Back-to-Back Weekly Increase Since April

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Gold climbed to a two-week high, set for the first back-to-back weekly advance since April, as concerns that a U.S. recovery may be stalling and violence in Iraq will escalate boosted demand for a haven.

Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.2 percent to $1,275.65 an ounce, the highest level since May 27, before trading at $1,273.34 by 10:25 a.m. in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal added 1.6 percent this week after rising 0.3 percent a week earlier.

Bullion has increased 6 percent this year in part as tension between Ukraine and Russia fueled demand for a haven. Gold climbed 1 percent yesterday, the most since May 2, as unrest in Iraq drove oil to an eight-month high and sent stocks tumbling. U.S. data yesterday showed retail sales climbed less than forecast while jobless claims topped estimates.

Gold for August delivery traded at $1,273.50 an ounce on the Comex in New York from $1,274 yesterday. (izr)

Source : Bloomberg

Yen Set for Weekly Gain on BOJ

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The yen was set for a weekly gain against most of its 16 major peers before the end of a Bank of Japan meeting at which economists predict no policy change, supporting the currency.

New Zealand��s dollar led gains among its most-traded counterparts this week as the central bank��s assistant governor said in a Bloomberg News interview that policy makers want to get interest rates œmore to a neutral level. Australia��s dollar was near a two-month high before reports forecast to show retail sales and industrial production growth in China, its largest trading partner, accelerated in May. The pound strengthened against the euro to highest since November 2012.

The yen traded at 101.71 per dollar as of 8:51 a.m. in Tokyo, little changed from yesterday and 0.8 percent stronger this week. It was unchanged at 137.83 per euro from yesterday and 139.80 on June 6. The euro bought $1.3550 from $1.3552 yesterday, set for a 0.7 percent weekly decline. Europe��s common currency fell as low as 79.94 pence, the least since November 2012.

The BOJ, led by Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, has kept its policy of buying about 7 trillion yen ($68.8 billion) of government bonds a month since April 2013. All 33 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg forecast the central bank will keep policy unchanged today. Nine percent of economists surveyed from June 3 to 6 predicted extra monetary stimulus in July, down from 38 percent in the previous survey.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold near 3-week high; platinum, palladium sink

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SAN FRANCISCO �� Gold prices rallied Thursday to log their highest settlement in nearly three weeks as growing unrest in Iraq and weakness in U.S. equities drove demand.

Platinum and palladium prices slumped, with palladium dropping almost 5% a day after closing at its highest level since 2001.

Gold for August delivery rose $12.80, or 1%, to settle at $1,274 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices marked their highest settlement since May 23, based on the most-active contracts.

July silver on Thursday, rose 36 cents, or 1.9%, to end at $19.53 an ounce, the highest close for a most-active contract since mid-May.

Copy Source: MarketWatch

WTI Trades Near Three-Month High on Crude Supplies

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West Texas Intermediate traded near the highest price in three months as government data showed crude inventories dropped for a second week in the U.S., the world��s biggest oil consumer. Brent rose in London.

Futures were little changed in New York after advancing 0.1 percent yesterday. Crude stockpiles fell by 2.6 million barrels to 386.9 million last week while gasoline supplies gained, the Energy Information Administration reported. OPEC agreed to maintain its production target at 30 million barrels a day, a widely anticipated decision that left the group��s output below projected demand for the rest of the year.

WTI for July delivery was at $104.63 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 23 cents, at 12:17 p.m. Sydney time. The contract settled at $104.41 on June 9, the highest close since March 3. The volume of all futures traded was about 26 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have advanced 6.3 percent this year.

Brent for July settlement rose as much as 44 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $110.39 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract expires tomorrow. The European benchmark oil traded at a $5.74 premium to WTI. The gap widened for the first time in four days yesterday to close at $5.55.

U.S. gasoline stockpiles expanded by 1.7 million barrels to 213.5 million in the week ended June 6, according to the EIA, the Energy Department��s statistical arm. A median 1 million gain was estimated in a Bloomberg News survey of 11 analysts.

Source : Bloomberg