Investing.com - Gold futures rose in the early part of Monday’s Asian session following last week’s concerning slide as traders appear to be bargain hunting with the yellow metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery rose 0.32% to USD1,577.80 per troy ounce in Asian trading Monday. That rise comes after the yellow metal slid 2.3% last week, marking the second consecutive weekly decline.
Gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,554.80 a troy ounce, the low from February 21 and a seven-month low and resistance at USD1,609.00, the high from February 20.
Traders fled gold and other commodities last week on speculation that the Federal Reserve is debating winding down its monetary easing programs that have previously supported gold and weakened the dollar. That speculation plagued gold and sent U.S. stocks to their first weekly loss of 2013, but the U.S. dollar has gained strength over the past several weeks.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, ended the week at 81.55, the strongest level since August 30.
Meanwhile, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission show hedge funds and other market participants slashed their net long exposure to gold futures contracts by 40% in the week ending February 19 to 42,318 contracts. That is the biggest weekly decline since late July.
Last Wednesday saw the biggest one-day outflow from the SPDR Gold Shares, the world’s largest gold ETF, in 18 months. Since the start of 2013, investors have pulled over USD3 billion from the ETF, indicating that some may feel gold’s 12-year bull run is nearing its end.
Elsewhere, Comex silver for May delivery climbed 0.61% to USD28.693 per ounce while copper for May delivery added 0.23% to USD3.559 per ounce.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery rose 0.32% to USD1,577.80 per troy ounce in Asian trading Monday. That rise comes after the yellow metal slid 2.3% last week, marking the second consecutive weekly decline.
Gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,554.80 a troy ounce, the low from February 21 and a seven-month low and resistance at USD1,609.00, the high from February 20.
Traders fled gold and other commodities last week on speculation that the Federal Reserve is debating winding down its monetary easing programs that have previously supported gold and weakened the dollar. That speculation plagued gold and sent U.S. stocks to their first weekly loss of 2013, but the U.S. dollar has gained strength over the past several weeks.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, ended the week at 81.55, the strongest level since August 30.
Meanwhile, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission show hedge funds and other market participants slashed their net long exposure to gold futures contracts by 40% in the week ending February 19 to 42,318 contracts. That is the biggest weekly decline since late July.
Last Wednesday saw the biggest one-day outflow from the SPDR Gold Shares, the world’s largest gold ETF, in 18 months. Since the start of 2013, investors have pulled over USD3 billion from the ETF, indicating that some may feel gold’s 12-year bull run is nearing its end.
Elsewhere, Comex silver for May delivery climbed 0.61% to USD28.693 per ounce while copper for May delivery added 0.23% to USD3.559 per ounce.