Investing.com - Coming off the best weekly performance in a month last week, gold futures again traded higher in the early part of Monday’s Asian as traders continued to boost the yellow metal higher.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for September delivery rose 0.43% to USD1,377.10 per troy ounce in Asian trading Monday. The September contract settled up 0.74% at USD1,371.20 per ounce last Friday.
Gold prices added 4.55% on the week, the strongest gain since the week ending July 12. The precious metal has rebounded 16% since hitting a 34-month low of USD1,180.15 a troy ounce on June 28.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,304.50 a troy ounce, the low from August 9 and near-term resistance at USD1,391.35, the high from June 17.
Gold was embraced as a safe-haven play last week amid some concerning U.S. data points that weighed on stocks. In U.S. economic news out last Friday, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment for August fell to 80 from 85.1 in July. The August reading was the worst in four months.
The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 5.9% to 896,000 units. Economists expected housing starts to rise to 900,000 units.
Data indicate traders are boosting their long bets on bullion. According to the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission, net long positions in gold futures and options contracts jumped 18% to 56,604 contracts for the week ending August 13.
Demand in India and possible mine strikes in South Africa may boost prices in the next four to five weeks before an industry conference in Denver, Bloomberg reported, citing a JPMorgan research report published last week.
Elsewhere, Comex silver for September delivery inched down 0.06% to USD23.307 per ounce while copper for September delivery rose 0.30% to USD3.372 per ounce.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for September delivery rose 0.43% to USD1,377.10 per troy ounce in Asian trading Monday. The September contract settled up 0.74% at USD1,371.20 per ounce last Friday.
Gold prices added 4.55% on the week, the strongest gain since the week ending July 12. The precious metal has rebounded 16% since hitting a 34-month low of USD1,180.15 a troy ounce on June 28.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,304.50 a troy ounce, the low from August 9 and near-term resistance at USD1,391.35, the high from June 17.
Gold was embraced as a safe-haven play last week amid some concerning U.S. data points that weighed on stocks. In U.S. economic news out last Friday, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment for August fell to 80 from 85.1 in July. The August reading was the worst in four months.
The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 5.9% to 896,000 units. Economists expected housing starts to rise to 900,000 units.
Data indicate traders are boosting their long bets on bullion. According to the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission, net long positions in gold futures and options contracts jumped 18% to 56,604 contracts for the week ending August 13.
Demand in India and possible mine strikes in South Africa may boost prices in the next four to five weeks before an industry conference in Denver, Bloomberg reported, citing a JPMorgan research report published last week.
Elsewhere, Comex silver for September delivery inched down 0.06% to USD23.307 per ounce while copper for September delivery rose 0.30% to USD3.372 per ounce.