While you were sleeping: Gold nudges US$1,000 an ounce, ECB holds rate at 1%

Friday 4th September 2009

The price of gold climbed to almost US$1,000 an ounce as the U.S. dollar weakened, reaching a six-month high as some investors sought precious metals as an alternative investment. Silver rose to a 13-month high.

Gold for December delivery rose 2% to US$997.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and earlier climbed to US$999.50. Silver climbed 6% to US$16.29 an ounce.

The euro strengthened to as much as $1.4348 before paring its gains after the European Central Bank kept its benchmark interest rates at 1% and said it won’t rush to end stimulus measures. President Jean-Claude Trichet said the region’s recovery will be “uneven.”

The euro traded at $1.4256 from $1.4264 and bought 92.61 yen from 92.22. Japan’s currency traded at 132.09 from 131.54.

European retail sales fell 1.8% in July from a year earlier, the 14th monthly decline, according to the European Union’s statistics office. The decline was less than the 2.2% slide forecast by economists.

Shares on Wall Street rose, led by retailers, after a group of 30 store owners tracked by Reuters showed sales at stores open at least 12 months fell a smaller-than-expected 2.9%.

Costco Wholesale Corp. rose 8.6% to US$54.99, pacing gains on the Standard & Poor’s 500. Costco same-store sales fell 2% last month, just a third of the decline expected. Gap Inc. climbed 7.6% to US$21.18 even after posting a decline in same-store sales of 3%, versus estimates of a 6.7% decline.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 1003.24 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7% to 9344.61. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8% to 1983.20.

Ford Motor Co. climbed 6.4% to US$7.48. The automaker’s corporate rating was raised to Caa1 from Caa3 by Moody’s Investors Service and the outlook raised to ‘stable’ from ‘negative.’

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing index rose to 48.4 in August, the highest since September 2008, from 46.4 in July. A reading below 50 means the services sector is contracting.

Labor Department figures showed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell 4,000 to 570,000 last week, suggesting the jobless rate will improve only gradually.

In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 edged up 0.04% to 230.68. Among regional benchmarks, the FTSE 100 fell 0.4% to 4796.75, Germany’s DAX 30 declined 0.4% to 5301.42 and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.6% to 3553.51.

Crude oil edged lower amid speculation OPEC will maintain its production quotas when the cartel meets next week.

Crude oil for October delivery fell 8 cents to US$67.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Copper futures for December delivery rose 1.4% to US$2.865 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange after Chinese stocks gained, stoking optimism for demand in the world’s largest consumer of the metal. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index climbed 4.8% yesterday.

Businesswire.co.nz

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