Friday, Jul 17, 2009
By Matt Whittaker
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Gold futures rose slightly Friday in thin conditions ahead of the weekend.
August gold rose $2.10 to settle at $937.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold gained some with other commodities as participants bought resources on concerns of future inflation, said Patrick Donnelly, broker with Peak Trading Group.
"The reflation trade came back into play today," Donnelly said.
There may have been some bargain hunting afoot, and trading is thin in front of the weekend, he said.
"Gold remains confined to what is apparently emerging as its summer doldrums range of from $900 to $950, and the metal still appears to be wanting for fresh drivers that could make the difference in the market's overall tilt," Kitco Bullion Dealers analyst Jon Nadler said in a research note.
The metal is experiencing its usual summer slowdown on lowered fabrication demand and holiday-induced slackness, said Carlos Sanchez, associate director of research with CPM Group.
Trading was quiet Friday, and the metal put in a narrow range for the day, noted Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading.
Neither equities nor the U.S. dollar were providing direction.
"It's really just bumping around in here, not much feature to the trade," Lesh said.
Silver futures also rose, beating gold in percentage terms for the day.
Higher prices for the yellow metal supported silver, Lesh said. Participants were also buying the gray metal to up their holdings of silver compared to gold.
"Some of the guys are playing the gold-silver ratio," Lesh said. Silver might be giving some more "bang for the buck" because it is often a more volatile market than that for gold, he said.
Comex September silver rose 16.8 cents to settle at $13.403.
Meanwhile, Nymex October platinum gained $6.80 to settle at $1,176.10 an ounce while September palladium on the exchange lost 65 cents to settle at $249.60 an ounce.
Trading in both was thin ahead of the weekend, a trader said.
Settlements (ranges include open-outcry and electronic trading):
London PM Gold Fix: $937.50; previous PM $935.00
Spot gold at 1:33 p.m. EDT: $937.70, up $1.35; Range: $932.00-$939.75
Aug gold $937.50, up $2.10; Range $931.60-$939.80
Sep silver $13.403, up 16.8 cents; Range $13.070-$13.470
Oct platinum $1,176.10, up $6.80; Range $1,163.00-$1,179.40
Sept palladium $249.60, down 65 cents; Range $244.10-$250.25
-By Matt Whittaker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2139; matt.whittaker@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
17-07-09 1903GMT
