Gold Trades Above $1,400 as Investors Weigh Fed Against Syria

     

         Gold traded little changed above $1,400 an ounce after rising the most in a week, as investors weighed the prospects for reduced stimulus in the U.S. against the threat of a military attack against Syria.

Spot gold traded at $1,412.97 an ounce at 11:49 a.m. in Singapore from $1,412.42 yesterday, when prices climbed 1.5 percent, the most since Aug. 23. Gold capped the first back-to-back monthly gain in a year in August as turmoil in the Middle East fanned haven demand.

Bullion fell 16 percent this year on speculation the Federal Reserve will taper stimulus that helped the metal gain for a 12th year in 2012. The U.S. central bank will start to reduce its $85 billion in monthly asset purchases, a program known as quantitative easing, at a meeting on Sept. 17-18, according to 65 percent of economists in a survey last month.

“Tension around Syria will be the near-term driver of gold prices,” said Lv Jie, an analyst at Cinda Futures Co., a unit of one of four funds in China created to buy bad debt from banks. “Recent U.S. economic data reflects a recovery, which should increase expectations for tapering of QE.”

The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index rose to a seven-week high after reports yesterday showed manufacturing in the U.S. climbed in August to the strongest since June 2011. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor backed PresidentBarack Obama’s call for a military strike against Syria.

Gold for December delivery traded at $1,412.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York from $1,412 yesterday, when futures gained 1.1 percent, the most since Aug. 27.

Silver fell 0.5 percent to $24.149 an ounce. Platinum and palladium were little changed at $1,535.65 an ounce and $718.25 an ounce.

Read More

Crude Oil falls in Asia after U.S. data boost

         

              Oil futures traded lower in the early part of Wednesday’s Asian session as traders in the region opt to overlook some encouraging U.S. economic data to focus more on what the next move might be concerning Syria. 

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for October delivery fell 0.14% to USD108.39 per barrel in Asian trading Wednesday. The October contract settled 0.83% at USD108.54 per barrel on Tuesday. 

After touching USD110 per barrel last week on fears a Western coalition military strike against was imminent, some of the "Syria premium" has come out of crude futures. 

Congressional Republicans said they would support President Barack Obama's calls for military strikes against Syria. 

Key Republican lawmakers including House Speaker John Boehner said earlier Tuesday they'd support a presidential call for U.S. military attacks on Syria via limited air or missile strikes. 

Last week, the U.K. parliament voted against joining the U.S. in coalition strike against Syria, indicating that if the U.S. does pursue a military option, it might have to do so alone. 

Lingering Syria-related tensions prompted traders to focus more on geopolitical news than some encouraging U.S. economic data. 

In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management said its August manufacturing index climbed to 55.7% from 55.4% in July, good for the highest reading since June 2011. Economists expected a reading of 54.1%. The new orders index soared to 63.2% from 58.3%, but the production index fell to 62.4% from 65%. 

Some analysts believe that once the Syria situation settles down, traders will focus more on improving global economic data and that could send crude to USD112 per barrel or beyond. 

Elsewhere, Brent for October delivery was flat at USD115.71 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

Read More

Gold down slightly on profit-taking

                        Gold futures traded slightly lower in the early part of Wednesday’s Asian session as traders in the region locked in profits in the yellow metal following a strong showing by bullion on Tuesday. 

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery inched down 0.01% to USD1,411.05 per troy ounce in Asian trading Wednesday. The October contract settled higher by 1.14% at USD1,411.70 per ounce on Tuesday. 

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,374.10 a troy ounce, the low from Sept. 1, and resistance at USD1,433.50, the high from Aug. 28.

Traders boosted gold Tuesday as they searched for safe-have plays after congressional Republicans said they would support President Barack Obama's calls for military strikes against Syria. 

Key Republican lawmakers including House Speaker John Boehner said earlier Tuesday they'd support a presidential call for U.S. military attacks on Syria via limited air or missile strikes. 

Last week, the U.K. parliament voted against joining the U.S. in coalition strike against Syria, indicating that if the U.S. does pursue a military option, it might have to do so alone. 

Lingering Syria-related tensions prompted traders to focus more on geopolitical news than some encouraging U.S. economic data. 

In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management said its August manufacturing index climbed to 55.7% from 55.4% in July, good for the highest reading since June 2011. Economists expected a reading of 54.1%. The new orders index soared to 63.2% from 58.3%, but the production index fell to 62.4% from 65%. 

Elsewhere, Comex silver for December delivery fell 0.13% to USD24.398 per ounce while copper for December delivery dropped 0.27% to USD3.305 per ounce.

Read More