Investing.com - Gold futures were up for a third day on Tuesday, as sentiment on the precious metal remained upbeat amid strong physical demand in India, while ongoing hopes for further easing in the U.S. also provided support.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,650.75 a troy ounce during early European trade, gaining 0.42%.
It earlier rose by as much as 1.05% to trade at a session high USD1,655.55 a troy ounce, the highest since April 3.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,613.55 a troy ounce, the low from April 4 and resistance at USD1,685.25, the high from April 2.
Gold prices continued to draw support from expectations of increased demand in top consumer India after gold jewelers in the country ended a three-week strike over the weekend.
The strike came to and end after India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee pledged to reconsider newly imposed taxes on the precious metal.
The 21-day work stoppage crippled the nation’s gold market after the country announced a 4% import duty hike on gold and a 0.3% excise tax on most gold jewelry.
Prices were expected to receive a boost in the near-term as one of the nation’s largest Hindu gold-buying festivals of Akshaya Tritiya begins on April 24.
In addition, the wedding season has already started in some parts of India. Gold is an integral part of most Indian weddings.
Gold's downward spiral in recent weeks was exacerbated by the absence of the world's largest consumer of the metal. India's gold imports for March are expected to total between 15 to 20 metric tons, down from 50 to 60 tons in the same month last year.
Imports are expected to rebound, with figures for April and May expected to total around 100 metric tons, Prithviraj Kothari, president of the Bombay Bullion Association, said Monday.
Meanwhile, market participants continued to asses the implications of Friday’s disappointing U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which showed the weakest pace of jobs growth in five months.
The dismal unemployment data revived expectations that the Federal Reserve may implement a third round of quantitative easing, which would weaken the dollar and drive gold prices higher.
In a speech that did not touch directly on the outlook for monetary policy earlier, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy was still “far from having fully recovered” from the financial crisis.
Gold investors will be closely watching U.S. data in the second quarter for clues as to the likelihood of a fresh round of monetary easing.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery added 0.5% to trade at USD31.68 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery rose 0.67% to trade at USD3.745 a pound.
BNP Paribas said in a report earlier that it expected silver prices to trade higher in line with gold through 2012 and 2013.
“Silver is in large supply surplus but should follow gold higher, given its strong positive correlation with the metal, although the downside risks here are particularly pronounced,” the bank said.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,650.75 a troy ounce during early European trade, gaining 0.42%.
It earlier rose by as much as 1.05% to trade at a session high USD1,655.55 a troy ounce, the highest since April 3.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,613.55 a troy ounce, the low from April 4 and resistance at USD1,685.25, the high from April 2.
Gold prices continued to draw support from expectations of increased demand in top consumer India after gold jewelers in the country ended a three-week strike over the weekend.
The strike came to and end after India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee pledged to reconsider newly imposed taxes on the precious metal.
The 21-day work stoppage crippled the nation’s gold market after the country announced a 4% import duty hike on gold and a 0.3% excise tax on most gold jewelry.
Prices were expected to receive a boost in the near-term as one of the nation’s largest Hindu gold-buying festivals of Akshaya Tritiya begins on April 24.
In addition, the wedding season has already started in some parts of India. Gold is an integral part of most Indian weddings.
Gold's downward spiral in recent weeks was exacerbated by the absence of the world's largest consumer of the metal. India's gold imports for March are expected to total between 15 to 20 metric tons, down from 50 to 60 tons in the same month last year.
Imports are expected to rebound, with figures for April and May expected to total around 100 metric tons, Prithviraj Kothari, president of the Bombay Bullion Association, said Monday.
Meanwhile, market participants continued to asses the implications of Friday’s disappointing U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, which showed the weakest pace of jobs growth in five months.
The dismal unemployment data revived expectations that the Federal Reserve may implement a third round of quantitative easing, which would weaken the dollar and drive gold prices higher.
In a speech that did not touch directly on the outlook for monetary policy earlier, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy was still “far from having fully recovered” from the financial crisis.
Gold investors will be closely watching U.S. data in the second quarter for clues as to the likelihood of a fresh round of monetary easing.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for May delivery added 0.5% to trade at USD31.68 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery rose 0.67% to trade at USD3.745 a pound.
BNP Paribas said in a report earlier that it expected silver prices to trade higher in line with gold through 2012 and 2013.
“Silver is in large supply surplus but should follow gold higher, given its strong positive correlation with the metal, although the downside risks here are particularly pronounced,” the bank said.