Investors, central banks scramble to purchase gold

Bloomberg News

September 27, 2012

SINGAPORE: Gold advanced for the first time in three days, extending the best quarterly gain in more than two years, as central banks and investors bought the metal to hedge against the prospect of weaker currencies and slowing growth.

Spot gold rose as much as 0.3 per cent to $1,765.20 an ounce and was at $1,763.50 in Singapore. The metal reached $1,787.52 on September 21, the highest price since February 29, and is 10 per cent higher since the end of June. That's set for its biggest quarterly climb since the three months to June 2010.
Spot gold rose as much as 0.3 per cent to $1,765.20 an ounce and was at $1,763.50 in Singapore. The metal reached $1,787.52 on September 21, the highest price since February 29, and is 10 per cent higher since the end of June. That's set for its biggest quarterly climb since the three months to June 2010.

Bullion has rallied after central banks from the United States to Japan took steps to boost their economies, driving investor holdings in exchange-traded products to a record. The Federal Reserve announced on September 13 a third round of debt purchases to bolster the largest economy, potentially weakening the dollar.

"A poor economic backdrop will keep global stimulus measures on the cards for a while and gold is set to profit from that,- Sun Yonggang, a macroeconomic strategist at Everbright Futures, a unit of China's largest state-owned investment group. 

December-delivery gold was little changed at $1,766 an ounce on the Comex, after dropping 0.3 per cent. Holdings in gold-backed ETPs climbed to 2,551.859 metric tonnes on Tuesday.

Kazakhstan expanded its gold reserves for a 13th month in August, buying 1.4 tonnes, data on the International Monetary Fund's website showed. South Korea bought 16 tonnes in July, and Paraguay purchased 7.5 tonnes that month.

In China, cash gold of 99.99 per cent purity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange fell 0.2 per cent to 358 yuan a gram ($1,765.39 an ounce) up 11 per cent this quarter and set for the biggest such gain since the period to December 2009. 
Silver rose as much as 0.8 per cent to $34.0425 an ounce and was at $33.9425.

The metal is set for a quarterly gain of 23.5 per cent, the best since the three months to December 2010.
Spot platinum gained for a second day, climbing as much as 0.5 per cent to $1,636.50 an ounce. The metal is up 13 percent since the end of June as labor disputes halted supplies in South Africa, the world's largest producer. ETP holdings tracked were at a record 47.438 tonnes on Tuesday.

Palladium fell for a third day, dropping 0.4 per cent to $636.45 an ounce, trimming monthly and quarterly advances. 

Source:  http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.aspx?detail=13146#