GOLD DIPS ON HOPES FOR PROGRESS ON DEBT TALKS :- Gold eased on Wednesday, retreating further from the previous day's record high, as hopes for a positive outcome to Thursday's euro zone summit and signs that talks on raising the U.S. debt ceiling were progressing took some heat out of prices. Spot gold eased 0.1 percent to $1,586.01 an ounce at 1343 GMT, although prices are still up 11.4 percent this year. U.S. gold futures GCv1 for August delivery were down $13.50 an ounce at $1,587.60. Concerns over euro zone debt, coupled with a looming debt crisis in the United States, led to an 11-session rally in gold prices to Monday, its longest in four decades, which took it to a record $1,609.51 an ounce. "Market uncertainty relating to sovereign issues and the increase of the U.S. debt ceiling is supporting safe haven demand for gold," said BNP Paribas analyst Anne-Laure Tremblay. Source :- Reuters.
OIL CLIMBS FOR SECOND DAY ON SHRINKING CRUDE STOCKPILES, STRONGER ECONOMY :- Oil advanced for a second day in New York as investors bet that shrinking stockpiles and signs of economic recovery in the U.S. indicate fuel demand will increase in the world’s biggest crude-consuming nation.Futures gained as much as 1.1 percent after the industry- funded American Petroleum Institute said supplies fell the most in six weeks. An Energy Department report today may show inventories dropped for a seventh week, the longest run of declines in two years. Prices rose yesterday after U.S. housing starts surged more than economists forecast. Source :- Bloomberg.
COPPER DECLINES FIRST DAY IN FOUR ON EUROPEAN DEBT CONCERNS :- Copper fell for the first time in four days in London as some investors viewed recent gains as excessive amid concern that the European debt crisis may slow global economic growth, hurting demand. Zinc also dropped.Three-month copper shed as much as 0.7 percent to $9,773 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, and traded at $9,797 at 4:47 p.m. in Shanghai. The contract gained 1.5 percent yesterday to a more than three-month high after U.S. housing starts were higher than expected. Zinc lost 1.1 percent to $2,462.25 a ton. Source :- Bloomberg.
