In Commodity News 03/10/2016
Gold held a weekly decline as investors weighed receding concern about Deutsche Bank AG’s finances against British Prime Minister Theresa May’s pledge to start pulling the U.K. out of the European Union by March.
Bullion for immediate delivery was 0.1 percent higher at $1,317.63 an ounce at 11:31 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal lost 1.6 percent last week, dropping on four out of five days. China’s markets are closed this week.
“It could not be quieter if it tried,” David Govett, head of precious metals trading at Marex Spectron Group in London, said by e-mail. Gold “once again failed at the top end of the range which signalled a move down to the bottom end.”
Concerns over Deutsche Bank’s financial health are ebbing. Agence France-Presse reported on Friday that the German lender is nearing a pact to pay the U.S. Department of Justice $5.4 billion, less than half the initial amount requested, to settle a probe related to bad mortgages. The bank is also poised to reach an agreement with labor representatives to cut jobs, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News.
The comments by the British prime minister hurt the pound. U.S. payrolls data due later this week will give further clues on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next policy move. Odds on a rate increase by December are near 60 percent, according to Fed funds futures.
“The Brexit will once again be a focal point after May set March 2017 as a deadline for triggering of Article 50,” Bryan Lum, a Singapore-based strategist with Phillip Futures Pte, said in an e-mail. “Markets will continue to assess the state of the U.S. economy as well, given the release of nonfarm payrolls this Friday. With markets biased toward a December rate hike, a weak number here could dampen expectations and see prices rally in response.”
In other precious metals:
Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by gold added 1 metric ton to 2,032.3 tons on Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Spot silver rose 0.4 percent, platinum fell 0.6 percent and palladium gained 0.7 percent.
Source: Bloomberg
