Gold tracks currency markets, awaits Wall Street re-opening
Gold ticked higher against the US Dollar and Japanese Yen today, but a dip for Sterling and Euro investors shows that Monday's action was currency-driven.
The market lacked clear direction with Wall Street closed for Martin Luther King Day. Friday's sudden leap above $627 now awaits the return of US traders at 13:00 GMT Tuesday.
"Probably the outlook from here is neutral," reckons John Reade, head of metals strategy at UBS Investment Bank, said.
"According to our forex strategists, we might see Dollar strength in the short term because US economic data is coming through so strongly. Although I like gold on one-month and three-month view, I am little bit cautious here."
Strong US data earlier this month knocked gold off a one-month high of $644 per ounce.
"There were a lot of indicators that the recent sell-off, which was driven by those strong labour-market figures, was a little bit overdone," says Michael Widmer, a metals analyst at Calyon.
"I think [gold] can go further."
In other news on a thin day for gold traders, Reuters reported that an industry expert said the Italian jewellery industry might stabilise this year after several years of falling purchases.
Italy's jewellery industry is the biggest in Europe, notes the newswire. It's struggling to claim global No.2 behind India against strong competition from Turkey and China.
Now Philip Olden, managing director for marketing and jewellery at the World Gold Council, told Reuters today at an international jewellery fair in Italy that local jewellers are very low on inventories.
To read more about how physical demand for gold jewelry can affect the price for Western investors, click here and read on...