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IPFS News Link • Economy - Economics USA

Gold Advances to Record for Second Time This Week on Dollar

• Bloomberg.com

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Gold climbed to a record for the second time this week as investors bought the metal to protect their wealth from the declining dollar and as a newspaper said India was “open to buying” more gold from the International Monetary Fund.

Bullion, which typically moves inversely to the dollar, increased for a fourth day after the U.S. currency shed gains. The dollar fell after a report showing improved Japanese exports lured investors toward riskier assets. An additional purchase by India would depend on “successful pitching” by the central bank, the Financial Chronicle reported, citing a government official.

“There certainly is very strong buying interest,” said Toby Hassall, a commodity analyst with CWA Global Markets Pty Ltd. in Sydney. “Investors are thinking of more long-term trends in the U.S. dollar, taking advantage of any short-term weakness” to boost exposure.

Bullion for immediate delivery reached an all-time high $1,177.40 an ounce. It traded at $1,176.70, up 0.6 percent, at 11:48 a.m. in Singapore. February gold reached a record $1,179 on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division and last traded at $1,178.40.

Gold, up 34 percent this year, is set for a ninth annual gain as central banks, pension funds and individual buyers seek to protect themselves from potential currency debasement and inflation. The U.S. Dollar Index has shed 7.8 percent after policy makers worldwide have set interest rates near zero and spent $2 trillion to pull the world economy out of the worst recession since World War II.

The Indian central bank will get the gold if its bid is successful, the Financial Chronicle cited the official as saying.

The IMF still has more than 200 tons to dispose of after the central banks of India and Mauritius snapped up about half the amount available for sale. India bought 200 tons for $6.7 billion, followed by Mauritius’s 2-ton purchase for $71.7 million. The rest will be sold on a “first-come, first-served” basis, Andrew Tweedie said in a Nov. 20 interview in Washington.

Among other precious metals, silver climbed 1.1 percent to $18.7175 an ounce, platinum was little changed at $1,449.50 an ounce and palladium rose 0.9 percent to $372.50 an ounce.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kyoungwha Kim in Singapore at kkim19@bloomberg.net

 

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