Hi Bobby
This story was in --The Business Times
Singapore on Line
Nov/17
Gold seen falling on talk of more sales
[NEW YORK]
G
old is expected to fall in the days ahead on speculation that gold lending by central banks could lead to sales, flooding the market at a time of slack demand from jewellery makers.
Signs that gold has lost its status as a traditional haven in times of political unrest came this week as investors failed to jump into the gold market and push prices higher during an escalation in tensions between the United Nations and Iraq that could result in a military confrontation strike.
"Tensions in the Middle East did give gold some support, but with the longer-term outlook signalling further gold sales, once the tensions with Iraq defuse we could see gold head a lot lower," said Bernard Savaiko, a senior commodities analyst at PaineWebber Inc. "This could happen next week."
Confirmation last week from the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, that it has been lending some of its 3,700 tonnes of gold reserves followed recent announcements by Switzerland that it may sell almost a third of its reserves, some 800 tonnes. In July, the Reserve Bank of Australia said it sold more than two-thirds of its gold reserves.
The Commodity Research Bureau index ended last week little changed at 241.72, down 0.37. The energy-weighted Goldman Sachs Commodity Index fell 0.94 to 202.59.
Gold for December delivery fell US$6.90 (S$10.90) an ounce, or 2.2 per cent, last week to US$304.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since March 18, 1985. -- Bloomberg |
