Gold Heading for Longest Stretch of Weekly Increases Since July
Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) — Gold headed for a third weekly advance after rallying to a two-week high as investors weighed signs of increased purchases against expectations for higher borrowing costs in the U.S.
Bullion for immediate delivery traded at $1,192.03 an ounce by 10:31 a.m. in Singapore from $1,193.79 yesterday, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal rose on Nov. 18 to $1,204.68, the highest since Oct. 30, and had added 0.3 percent this week. A third week of gains would be the longest run since the period ended July 11.
Data yesterday showed Russia boosted gold reserves last month and Switzerland was a net exporter of the metal for the first time this year. Volumes for the Shanghai Gold Exchange’s benchmark spot contract have been above this year’s average every day after the week-long National Day holiday in October. Bullion is still on course for a second yearly decline as the Federal Reserve moves closer to raising interest rates amid lower energy prices, while other central banks add to stimulus.
“Recent U.S. data continue to point to steady improvement while other economies look weak and this will lend support to the dollar as monetary policies diverge,” Huang Wei, a Shanghai-based analyst at Huatai Great Wall Futures Co., wrote in a note today. “Physical buying has picked up, as is expected for this time of the year.”
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index traded near a five-year high as data this week showed Japan was in recession. Manufacturing from Europe to China slowed, while existing home sales in the U.S. rose and jobless claims fell.
Gold Purchases
Gold for December delivery was little changed at $1,191.50 an ounce on the Comex in New York. In China and India, the largest buyers, demand typically picks up in the fourth quarter during festive periods and the wedding season.
Swiss gold exports in October were the highest since February, with most shipments going to India, China and Hong Kong, Swiss Federal Customs Administration data showed yesterday. In Russia, the central bank said it bought about 19.7 metric tons of bullion last month, while International Monetary Fund data showed Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Mauritius boosted holdings in October.
Volumes for bullion of 99.99 percent purity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange have been more than this year’s daily average of about 14,822 kilograms since Oct. 8 through yesterday. They expanded on Nov. 18 to 34,514 kilograms, the most since April 2013, when the metal’s plunge into a bear market unleashed a purchasing frenzy that helped China overtake India as the world’s largest consumer.
Silver for immediate delivery slid 0.3 percent to $16.2310 an ounce, heading for a weekly decline. Spot platinum was little changed at $1,211.50 an ounce, set for a sixth weekly retreat which is the longest such run since October 2013. Palladium was also little changed at $771.40 an ounce, poised to halt two weeks of losses.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net Ovais Subhani
