Increasing Demand To Hedge

(Reuters) - Gold prices slipped on Monday after early buying failed to lift prices past $1,600 an ounce, with investors still cautious about the precious metal as they awaited clearer signals on the euro-zone debt crisis. Last week, gold slid to its lowest level since December, then rallied 4.5 percent late in the week. Buying resumed early on Monday but ran out of steam, as mild technical selling set in around the session high of $1,599 an ounce -- gold's priciest level in a week and a half. Spot gold was down 0.08 percent at $1,590.80 an ounce at 3:43 p.m. EDT (1910 GMT), while U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled at $1,588.70 per ounce, down 0.2 percent from Friday. A close above $1,605 an ounce would trigger significant buying, traders said, but after last week's tumultuous ...

(Reuters) - Gold eased a touch on Monday as a retreat in the euro arrested the metal's rebound from its 2012 lows, but prices remained supported near $1,600 an ounce as investors bet the metal's price correction had been overdone. Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,588.69 an ounce at 1220 GMT, while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $3.30 an ounce at $1,588.60. Last week, gold fell to its lowest this year at $1,527 an ounce, before staging its biggest two-day rally since October as traders holding short positions rushed to cover. "I suspect that what we saw last week was partly short covering, and that has helped us on the way up, with maybe a little bit of extra safe-haven interest," Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie said. "In the next few weeks leading up to ...

(Reuters) - Gold steadied in Europe on Monday as a retreat in the euro arrested the metal's rebound from its 2012 lows, but prices remained supported near $1,600 an ounce as investors bet the metal's price correction had been overdone. a Spot gold was at $1,591.50 an ounce at 0932 GMT against $1,592.00 late on Friday. U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $1.30 an ounce at $1,590.60. Last week, gold fell to its lowest this year at $1,527 an ounce, before staging its biggest two-day rally since October as traders holding short positions rushed to cover. "I suspect that what we saw last week was partly short covering, and that has helped us on the way up, with maybe a little bit of extra safe-haven interest," Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie said. "In the next few weeks ...

Oil prices fell on Monday as Greece's inability to form a coalition government and concerns about a slowing Chinese economy fed worries about the outlook for petroleum demand. Greece's turmoil triggered selling in dollar-denominated copper and gold, sending a benchmark commodities index to a 19-month low, while pressuring the euro to a four-month low against the dollar and weighing on the stock market. Hedge funds and large speculators made the biggest-ever cuts in their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to May 8, according to government data released on Friday, adding to this week's bearish sentiment. Crude futures extended losses that, in the two weeks ending on Friday, left Brent crude down 6.2 percent and U.S. crude off 8.4 percent. "The situation in ...

Fundamental News Today’s highlights: · ECB President Draghi Speaks (EUR, 13:30 GMT) · FOMC Member Fisher Speaks (U.S., 16:15 GMT) · Housing Starts (CAD, 13:15 GMT) Consumer borrowing in the U.S. surged in March by the most in more than a decade on growing demand for educational financing and autos. Credit rose by $21.4 billion, the biggest gain since November 2001, to $2.54 trillion, Federal Reserve figures showed today in Washington. The advance was paced by a $16.2 billion jump in non-revolving debt, including student and car loans. Australia’s trade deficit was at A$1.587 billion in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. That missed forecasts for a shortfall of A$1.4 billion after showing a deficit of A$754 million in February. Exports ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "Ifo index paints a too positive picture of the growth prospects for the German economy" - Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING Group German business confidence unexpectedly improved in April, a sign the euro zone’s largest economy is weathering Europe’s debt crisis. Ifo business climate index, which is based on a survey of 7,000 businesses, rose to 109.9 points from 109.8 points in March. USD "A strong Germany helps the euro massively, and helps other assets too" - Neil Jones, head of European hedge-fund sales at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday while German investor confidence unexpectedly improved and blue chip companies from General Electrics to Microsoft reported better than expected earnings. GBP "While the month of March ...

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's bid to dampen the influence of oil speculators by having regulators set trading margins could backfire, potentially making prices even more volatile and leaving crude dominated only by those with the deepest pockets. Under Obama's request to Congress, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would determine how much speculators need to pay to trade U.S. crude oil futures, in theory increasing the amount when prices move too far, too fast. But economists and traders cautioned that pushing smaller investors out of markets would only hand greater influence to the largest hedge funds and Wall Street banks. Ultimately, there may not be enough traders left to do business with oil producers and consumers looking to hedge their needs. "Reduced ...

Dukascopy Technical Analysis EUR/USD "Whereas in the past the dollar would tend to fall as risk appetite was rising, the dollar is now benefiting from pro-risk developments, as U.S. economic data has generally bested expectations recently" - Bank of the West (based on CNBC) Even though EUR/USD continues to hover just below 1.3291/1.3325, it is expected to move southwards in the nearest future. The initial support is at 1.3140, followed by 1.3130 (55 day sma) and 1.3004. EUR/JPY "It's possible to see euro pick up slightly as people work out the implications of the bailout package and better economic statistics Sentiment toward Europe is slowly improving" - St. George Bank Ltd. (based on Bloomberg) EUR/JPY is currently in a phase of a bearish correction, which may last until 105.65 is ...

(Reuters) - Gold edged lower on Tuesday as a brightened U.S. economic outlook dented its safe-haven appeal, while a buoyant equity market also prompted investors to take money out of bullion. The expectations of further monetary easing worldwide amid a sluggish growth outlook had boosted investment in gold as a hedge against inflation, sending cash gold prices up as much as 14 percent this year to near $1,800 an ounce. But the flight to safety has started to lose its appeal with upbeat U.S. data in recent months increasing investor confidence in the recovery of the world's largest economy. "Investors are looking at other investment options, as they are less concerned about economic growth and more wanting to hop on the equity rally, which clearly works against some of the reasons why ...