Gold fell for the first time in four
days after a report showed U.S. manufacturing expanded in
November at the fastest pace in five months, damping demand for
the metal as a haven.
The Institute for Supply Management said its factory index
increased to 52.7 from 50.8 in October, with readings over 50
indicting expansion. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected
51.8. Gold jumped 3.7 percent in the previous three days, the
longest rally in five weeks, after central banks from the U.S.
to China moved to ease strains in the financial market.
“When people feel better about the economy, they’ll sell
gold,” Fain Shaffer, the president of Infinity Trading Corp. in
Medford, Oregon, said today in a telephone interview. “We’re
also seeing some profit-taking after gold rallied above its 20-
day moving average” at $1,745 an ounce, he said.
Gold futures for February delivery fell 0.6 percent to
close at $1,739.80 at 1:45 p.m. on the Comex in New York.
Earlier, the most-active contract reached $1,758, the highest
since Nov. 17.
The metal has climbed 22 percent this year, heading for the
11th straight annual gain. The price reached a record $1,923.70
on Sept. 6 after central banks increased purchases and investors
sought higher returns amid slumping equities (MXWO) and turmoil in
currency markets.
Gold will extend the rally in 2012 as interest rates in the
U.S. remain “lower for longer,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said
today in a report.
Silver futures for March delivery fell 0.1 percent to
$32.759 an ounce in New York. The price has climbed 5.9 percent
this year.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, palladium futures for
March delivery rose 2.9 percent to $630.20 an ounce, the fourth
straight gain. Platinum futures for January delivery declined
0.2 percent to $1,557.20 an ounce.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
