Gold climbed in New York on speculation central banks will maintain stimulus measures. Silver, platinum and palladium advanced.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said the U.S. central bank should press on with $85 billion in monthly bond buying, while Haruhiko Kuroda, the nominee to be Bank of Japan (8301) governor, said he would do whatever is needed to end 15 years of deflation. European Central Bank policy makers meet on March 7, after data last week showed manufacturing in the region contracted and unemployment climbed to a record in February.
“The speech that we had from Yellen reassured the market that the end of quantitative easing is a long way off,” Afshin Nabavi, a senior vice president at bullion refiner MKS (Switzerland) SA in Geneva, said today by phone. “We’re seeing good physical-related demand every time the market dips.”
Gold futures for April delivery rose 0.6 percent to $1,582.30 an ounce by 7:48 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Futures trading volume was 11 percent above the average in the past 100 days for this time of day. Gold for immediate delivery was up 0.6 percent at $1,583.25 in London.
Bullion rallied the past 12 years as nations from the U.S. to China pledged to do more to support economies. The metal is down 5.6 percent this year and fell for a fifth month in February, the longest run of declines since 1997. Investors sold the most gold ever from exchange-traded products last month, and the 2,500 metric tons now held is 5 percent below the Dec. 20 record, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Silver for May delivery gained 1.5 percent to $28.925 an ounce. Palladium for June delivery was up 1.5 percent at $725.25 an ounce. Platinum for April delivery climbed 1.3 percent to $1,587 an ounce. It fell to as low as $1,564 yesterday, the lowest since Jan. 8. (bloomberg)
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