Gold Little Changed in Asia as Investors Await U.S. Indicators

升呢

Gold was little changed in Asia, holding near a six-week high as investors await more U.S. economic indicators to assess the probability of a cut in interest rates. Silver was little changed.

Investors are waiting for the August employment data in the U.S. to see whether spending and the job market might follow housing into a slump. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is under pressure to cut interest rates this month after the central bank said Aug. 17 that ``downside risks to growth have increased appreciably.'' A rate cut might hurt the U.S. dollar and boost the appeal of gold as an alternative investment.

``Funds seem to have renewed interest in gold now and the prospect of a weakened dollar might be a reason,'' said Ellison Chu, manager of precious metals at Standard Bank Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong.

Gold for immediate delivery was little changed at $680.70 an ounce at 12:27 p.m. in Singapore. It gained as much as 1.7 percent to $683.50 an ounce late yesterday, the highest since July 24. Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $12.29 an ounce at 12:27 p.m. Singapore time.

Futures trading shows investors are betting the Fed will cut its benchmark rate at least a quarter percentage point, to 5 percent, at its Sept. 18 policy meeting. The Fed on Aug. 17 cut the rate charged on direct loans to banks to increase the availability of capital after global stock markets plunged.

Tokyo Arbitrage

A recovery in equities has helped support gold prices. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added as much as 0.6 percent to 152.77 in Singapore following a rise in U.S. stocks after investors returned from a long weekend.

Still, gold may come under pressure during the Asian day from arbitrageurs in Japan, who buy futures in Tokyo and sell the metal in the spot market, Standard Bank's Chu said.

Arbitrage is profiting from the disparities in the price of equivalent securities, commodities or currencies when they are simultaneously traded on more than one market.

In Japan, gold for delivery in August rose 31 yen, or 1.2 percent, to 2,567 yen a gram ($688 an ounce) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange at 11:47 a.m. Singapore time.

Gold for December delivery fell 0.3 percent to $689.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:33 p.m. Singapore time.

Amigo