Gold Trades Above One-Week Low as Ukraine Counters U.S. Recovery

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Gold held above a one-week low as investors weighed violence in Ukraine and signs of higher demand in China against an improving U.S. economy.

Bullion for immediate delivery traded at $1,293.17 an ounce at 9:43 a.m. in Singapore from $1,293.63 yesterday, when prices slid 0.2 percent after U.S. retail sales data showed that economic growth is on track to accelerate in the second quarter. The metal fell on May 12 to $1,280.02, the lowest level since May 2, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.

Gold has rallied 7.6 percent this year in part as tension between Ukraine and Russia boosted haven demand. Insurgents killed seven Ukrainian soldiers in an ambush yesterday as the defense minister said the country was fighting an œundeclared war with Russia. In China, the largest consumer, volumes for the benchmark spot contract in Shanghai rose to 17,538 kilograms yesterday, the most since April 24.

œWhile the situation in Ukraine has been lending support to gold prices, it may be limited as no one is expecting an all-out war, said Lv Jie, a Hangzhou-based analyst at Cinda Futures Co., a unit of one of four funds in China created to buy bad debt from banks. œPhysical demand is steady at these levels and the health of the U.S. economy will continue to determine direction.

Gold for June delivery traded at $1,293.50 an ounce on the Comex in New York from $1,294.80 yesterday. Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest bullion-backed exchange-traded product, were unchanged yesterday at 780.46 metric tons, the lowest since January 2009.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold Futures Decline as U.S. Equities Advance, Dollar Rallies

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Gold futures fell as U.S. equities climbed to a record and the dollar��s rally curbed demand for the metal as an alternative investment.

The Standard & Poor��s 500 Index of stocks topped 1,900 for the first time, and the greenback climbed to one-month high against the euro. Gold slumped 28 percent last year as equities surged to a record and inflation remained muted. Declines may be limited as escalating tensions in Ukraine spur haven demand.

Gold futures for June delivery slipped 0.1 percent to $1,294.80 an ounce at 1:38 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the price fell as much as 0.5 percent.

The metal rose 7.7 percent this year on the Eastern European crisis. œTerrorists attacked a Ukrainian army convoy near the separatist-held city of Slovyansk, killing six people, Interfax reported, citing Ukraine��s Defense Ministry.

Copy Source: Bloomberg

WTI Rises for Third Day as Cushing Stockpiles Drop; Brent Steady

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West Texas Intermediate advanced for a third day, the longest rising streak in more than three weeks, after an industry report showed crude supplies shrank at the biggest U.S. oil-storage hub. Brent was steady in London.

Futures gained as much as 0.3 percent in New York. Crude inventories at Cushing, the delivery point for WTI, fell by 590,000 barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said yesterday. Stockpiles nationwide were probably unchanged at 397.6 million, near a record high, a Bloomberg News survey shows before Energy Information Administration data today. Ukraine is fighting an œundeclared war with Russia, according to Acting Defense Minister Mykhaylo Koval.

œMarkets returned their focus to physical supply with little geopolitical news to drive direction, Mark Pervan, the head of commodity research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Melbourne, said in an e-mailed note today.

WTI for June delivery climbed as much as 29 cents to $101.99 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $101.98 at 1:30 p.m. Sydney time. The contract rose $1.11 to $101.70 yesterday, the highest close since April 24. The volume of all futures traded was about 24 percent below the 100-day average. Prices have increased 3.6 percent this year.

Brent for June settlement, which expires tomorrow, was 12 cents higher at $109.36 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $7.38 to WTI. The more-active July contract was up 12 cents at $108.66.

Source : Bloomberg

Euro Weakness Sustained as Slowdown Spurs ECB Easing Bets

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The euro traded near a five-week low as signs of sustained economic weakness in the region boosted speculation the European Central Bank will step up measures to lift growth and spur inflation.

The euro was little changed after a five-day drop before a report today that may confirm a decline in Germany��s consumer price index and data that may show industrial production in the region declined in March. The pound traded near a 16-month high against the euro before employment data and the central bank��s inflation report today. Australia��s dollar was 0.2 percent from this month��s high amid steady monetary policy expectations, even after officials flagged spending cuts in yesterday��s budget.

œThe euro is being sold against the dollar on the prospect of ECB easing, and the market will be paying attention to central bank officials, said Yuki Sakasai, a currency strategist in New York at Barclays Plc. œA gradual recovery in the U.S. economy is firmly in place, and that will cause the dollar to rise against the yen in the medium to long term.

The euro was little changed at $1.3701 as of 10:15 a.m. in Tokyo after falling to $1.3689 yesterday, a level not seen since April 4. It lost 0.1 percent to 140.02 yen.

The dollar bought 102.19 yen after climbing 0.6 percent in the previous three days to close at 102.26 in New York. The pound was at 81.39 pence per euro from 81.45 yesterday, when it touched 81.35, the strongest since January 2013. The U.K. currency fetched $1.6835 after falling 0.3 percent to $1.6826 yesterday.

Source : Bloomberg