Bloomberg (21/10) -- Gold futures rose for the third time in four
sessions on speculation that the Federal Reserve will delay scaling back
the pace of monetary stimulus, increasing demand of the metal as a
store of value.Last week, gold gained 3.7 percent, the most in
two months, on speculation that the Fed won’t start tapering until 2014
after the 16-day closure of the federal government damped the economy.
The first cut in debt purchases will be in March, according to the
median estimate of 40 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Tomorrow, the
Labor Department will release September jobs data delayed by the
shutdown.“The market is convinced that there will be no tapering
this year,” Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Archer
Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview.
“Investors will be closely watching tomorrow’s jobs data to gauge the
nation’s economic conditions.”Gold futures for December delivery
rose 0.3 percent to $1,318.30 an ounce at 9:41 a.m. on the Comex in New
York. Trading was 48 percent below the average for the past 100 days
for this time, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. On Oct. 18, the price
reached $1,328.90, the highest for a most-active contract since Oct. 8.Through
Oct. 18, gold dropped 22 percent this year, heading for the first
annual decline since 2000. Some investors lost faith in the metal amid a
rally in U.S. equities to a record and low inflation.Silver
futures for December delivery rose 1.7 percent to $22.285 an ounce.
Earlier, the price reached $22.335, the highest since Oct. 9.
