Gold finishes higher on weak dollar, strong oil
- Source: Xinhua
- [10:21 June 12 2009]
- Comments
Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose from its two-week low on Tuesday as dollar went down. Silver finished higher, but platinum fell a little.
Gold price for August delivery gained 7.30 US dollars, or 0.8 percent, finishing at 962 dollars an ounce, despite of falling to 942.50 early in the morning, the lowest level since May 25.
A weak dollar gave gold's recovery the main support. By the end of gold floor trading time, the dollar index, a gauge to measure the greenback against a basket of global currencies, dropped to 79. 262, more than 1 point, or 1.3 percent away from the intraday high of 80.331. The rate against euro plummeted to 1.4175 from 1.3944 dollars.
The number of newly laid-off workers filing for jobless benefits fell last week by 24,000 to 601,000, better than the forecast of economists, reported by the US Labor Department. The number of unemployed continuing to file for claims rose to 6.8 million, the highest level in 42 years.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department indicated retail sales rose 0.5 percent in May, posting the largest gain since January.
A better-than-expected jobless data and bullish retail sales made investors believe that the recession is nearing the end and inflation is on the way. As a result, gold is considered the best safe-haven to store value.
Buoyed by a forecast from the International Energy Agency for stronger demand, oil prices hit another eight-month high as the July delivery contract topped 73.23 dollars a barrel at noon on Thursday, supporting the precious metal to finish at positive area.
July silver finished at 15.493 dollars per ounce, up 26.8 cents. July platinum lost 10 cents to 1,273.10 dollars an ounce.