Gold edges higher as traders eye Mideast, Fed

BY

NEW YORK - Gold futures edged higher Tuesday, reversing early losses as traders continued to fret about the violence in the Middle East and await next week's Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
Gold for October delivery was up $2.10 at $642.50 an ounce, off an early low of $636.20.
Gold is marking time until the Fed meets, or until diplomats come up with a compromise that will stop the bullets from flying in the Middle East.

Israel continued to bombard Lebanon overnight, damping hopes for a cease-fire and adding to gold's attraction as a safe-haven investment.

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a minister in the Israeli cabinet, said the Israel's army needs 10 days to two weeks to drive Hezbollah from its border. The BBC reported fierce fighting on the ground, with the Israeli Air Force continuing to bomb targets across Lebanon despite its pledge to suspend air strikes for 48-hours to allow civilians to leave the area.

Traders are also awaiting Iran's official response to the package of incentives Western governments are offering Tehran in an effort to dissuade it from enriching uranium.

To add just a bit more nerves to the mix, the two Koreas exchanged gunfire along their common border overnight, a month ago, this unsettling brew of bad news would have witnessed a 2% or 3% rally in metals.

Technical factors were also at play,  In recent sessions, investors with short positions have moved into the market after the London fixing and physical buying of gold in Europe has stopped.

They couldn't push the contract lower, so now they're just covering positions,.
The short squeeze offers a lot of opportunities to move higher, especially if  taking out the $640 spot level.

Traders shrugged off a stronger dollar following a series of data releases that exceeded expectations.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said core U.S. consumer inflation matched an 11-year high in June, keeping pressure on the Fed to take action to cool the economy.

The core personal consumption expenditure price index (excluding food and energy) increased 0.2% for the third straight month in June, and has risen 2.4% in the past 12 months, matching the largest year-over-year gain since April 1995.

Consumer prices including food and energy also rose 0.2% in June, and are up 3.5% in the past year.
Other reports showed construction spending rising at a higher-than-expected pace in June, while the pending home index rose for a second month in a row.

The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing survey rose unexpectedly in July. The headline manufacturing index last month stood at 54.7%, up from 53.8% in June. A MarketWatch forecast, based on a poll of economists, called for a reading of 53.6%, down a touch from 53.8% in June.
The data pushed the dollar higher against major currencies.

Other metals were also higher with silver up 12 cents at $11.49 an ounce. Platinum added $6.30 to $1,247.90 an ounce, palladium rose $2.35 to $319.50 an ounce and copper added 1 cent to $3.58 a pound.

On the supply side, gold inventories were unchanged at 8.09 million troy ounces as of late Monday, according to Nymex data. Silver supplies fell by 838,801 troy ounces to 99 million. Copper supplies were unchanged at 6,756 short tons.
Indexes that track mining and metals stocks were slightly lower

[ Last edited by BY on 2006-8-2 at 12:44 AM ]

gxying

想看看你的分析，可惜我看不懂，不懂英文

BY

gxying  在 2006-8-2 01:35 發表:

想看看你的分析，可惜我看不懂，不懂英文

这只是消息不是我的分析。内容是有關紐約市况。

[ Last edited by BY on 2006-8-2 at 01:47 AM ]

gxying

BY  在 2006-8-2 01:41 發表:

这只是消息不是我的分析。内容是有關紐約市况。

从市况看，你觉得金会再往上涨，还是跌？能否给点参考？