Investing.com – Gold futures were up for a second day on Monday, climbing above the psychologically important level of USD1,900-an-ounce as lingering worries over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and mounting concerns over the U.S. economic outlook and boosted the appeal of the precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,893.55 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, climbing 1.02%.
It earlier rose as much as 1.27% to trade at USD1,903.35 a troy ounce, the highest price since August 23, when prices rose to a record high of USD1,917.90 a troy ounce.
Concerns over the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis were exacerbated after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling party was defeated in local elections on Sunday.
The result may hamper efforts to grant new powers to the euro zone's bailout fund, ahead of a ruling on the legality of the latest bailout for Greece, due to be handed down by Germany’s constitutional court later in the week.
Italian and Spanish government bond yields came under pressure following the news, while Greek yields rose to a euro-lifetime earlier Monday.
Meanwhile, data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added zero jobs in August, the weakest reading since September 2010. Economists had expected non-farm payrolls to rise by 74,000 last month.
The dismal jobs data fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will embark on a third round of monetary easing.
Swiss investment bank UBS said in a report earlier that, “Additional evidence of U.S. economic weakness raises the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will announce further easing this month.”
The lender added that the implications of Friday’s U.S. payrolls report and intense focus of European sovereign issues give gold “two strong reasons to rally in the coming weeks.”
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery shed 0.34% to trade at USD42.92 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery tumbled 1.61% to trade USD4.048 a pound.
COMEX floor trading will be closed on Monday for the U.S. Labor Day holiday. Electronic trades were to be booked with Tuesday’s transactions for settlement purposes.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,893.55 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, climbing 1.02%.
It earlier rose as much as 1.27% to trade at USD1,903.35 a troy ounce, the highest price since August 23, when prices rose to a record high of USD1,917.90 a troy ounce.
Concerns over the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis were exacerbated after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling party was defeated in local elections on Sunday.
The result may hamper efforts to grant new powers to the euro zone's bailout fund, ahead of a ruling on the legality of the latest bailout for Greece, due to be handed down by Germany’s constitutional court later in the week.
Italian and Spanish government bond yields came under pressure following the news, while Greek yields rose to a euro-lifetime earlier Monday.
Meanwhile, data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added zero jobs in August, the weakest reading since September 2010. Economists had expected non-farm payrolls to rise by 74,000 last month.
The dismal jobs data fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will embark on a third round of monetary easing.
Swiss investment bank UBS said in a report earlier that, “Additional evidence of U.S. economic weakness raises the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will announce further easing this month.”
The lender added that the implications of Friday’s U.S. payrolls report and intense focus of European sovereign issues give gold “two strong reasons to rally in the coming weeks.”
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery shed 0.34% to trade at USD42.92 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery tumbled 1.61% to trade USD4.048 a pound.
COMEX floor trading will be closed on Monday for the U.S. Labor Day holiday. Electronic trades were to be booked with Tuesday’s transactions for settlement purposes.