Momentum propels gold over $1,000 per ounce

[Naveed Yaseen]

LONDON: Gold powered through the $1,000 per ounce psychological barrier on Tuesday, carried by a wave of pent-up technical momentum and dollar weakness, with some analysts eyeing last year’s record high at $1,030.80.

Spot gold rose to $1,007.45 an ounce, its highest since March 2008, when bullion touched a record high at $1,030.80. It was trading at $1,004.65 an ounce by 1112 GMT versus $993.85 an ounce late in New York on Monday.

US gold futures for December delivery rose to $1,009.4 an ounce, before easing to $1,006.80 an ounce, versus Friday’s close at $996.70 an ounce before the US long weekend. But the sustainability of the precious metal’s rally above $1,000 an ounce, which also helped boost palladium and silver to 2009 highs, was in question.

Spot gold has now made three attempts to rise and stay above $1,000, including Tuesday’s push. The market stayed above the key level for one day in February this year and three days in March 2008, when the record $1,030.80 was hit.

Sustainable? Despite gold hitting $1,000, it is far from an inflation-adjusted record, which analysts at GFMS have put as high as $2,079 per ounce.

Investment flows took a break, with holdings in the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, standing at 1,077.63 tonnes as of Sept 7, unchanged from Friday, denting the price prospects for gold.

In other metals, silver hit a 13-month high of $16.81 an ounce and was at $16.68 an ounce versus $16.29 an ounce. Palladium touched $295 an ounce, its highest since September last year. It was last at $294.00 an ounce versus Monday’s $291.50. Platinum was at $1,278.50 an ounce versus $1,255.00 an ounce on Monday.

Demand prospects lift copper to 1-week high: Copper jumped to its highest in more than a week on Tuesday, buoyed by expectations of stronger economic and demand growth in coming months, but analysts say future price direction will depend on China.

Battery material lead soared to a 16-month high of $2,480 a tonne and zinc rose to $2,015, the highest since July 2008, on worries about supplies from China.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange traded at $6,450 a tonne in official rings from $6,324 at the close on Monday.

The metal, used in power and construction, touched $6,514 a tonne, up about 60 percent since early April when markets started to think the worst of the recession could be over.

Stocks of copper in LME warehouses fell to below 260,000 tonnes on July 13, on Chinese state and consumer buying, from levels above 540,000 late February.

Pollution: Lead was untraded in the rings, but bid at $2,459.50 from Monday’s last bid at $2,350. It has gained more than 30 percent since Aug. 24 when news of lead smelting capacity shutdowns in China broke.

Zinc traded at $1,985 a tonne from $1,901. The metal used to galvanise steel can be produced alongside lead and that has led to concerns about Chinese supplies.

Tin traded at $14,650 from $14,300. Nickel was untraded in the rings, but bid at $18,525 from $17,700.

Nickel earlier hit a 1-week high of $18,670 a tonne. Traders said the metal used to make stainless steel was playing catch up with other industrial metals.

Aluminium rose to $1,930 a tonne, the highest since Aug 26. It traded was at $1,918 from $1,867 on Monday.

The metal, used in transport and packaging, was boosted by news that China’s passenger car sales in August rose more than 90 percent from a year earlier. reuters

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