By Debarati Roy - Aug 9, 2013 10:34 PM GMT+0400
Gold rose for the third straight day on speculation that the demand will increase amid signs of a pickup in the economy in China, the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal. Silver advanced to a two-week high.
In July, China’s industrial output rose more than estimated by analysts from a year earlier, government data showed today. Yesterday, statistics indicated a rebound in trade. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 raw materials climbed as much as 1.1 percent, snapping a five-session slump. Zinc and nickel paced the rally, while platinum jumped to an eight-week high.
“There is optimism about higher demand from China as the economy improves,” Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “The bullish mood in the industrial-metal complex is helping gold and silver.”
Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2 percent to settle at $1,312.20 an ounce at 1:44 p.m. on the Comex in New York. The metal gained 2.1 percent in the previous two days.
Trading was 49 percent below the average in the past 100 days for this time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Gold has fallen 22 percent this year as some investors lost faith the metal as a store of value amid an equity rally and low inflation and concern that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of monetary stimulus.
Silver futures for September delivery rose 1.1 percent to $20.407 an ounce on the Comex. Earlier, the price reached $20.53, the highest since July 23.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for October delivery climbed 0.6 percent to $1,500.60 an ounce. Earlier, the metal reached $1,505.30, the highest since June 11. This week, the price gained 3.4 percent.
Palladium futures for September delivery rose 0.3 percent to $741 an ounce. The metal, up 1.5 percent this week, has advanced 5.4 percent in 2013.
To contact the reporter on this story: Debarati Roy in New York at droy5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick McKiernan at pmckiernan@bloomberg.net
