By Anil Mathews

ScrapMonster Author

Gold Posts Worst Month Since 2013 on ‘Poisonous’ U.S. Outlook.

Market Daily & Weekly

Note: Indications only, open and closing prices are bids; Data source: Bloomberg; Times as per Dubai

Fundamentals and News

Gold Posts Worst Month Since 2013 on ‘Poisonous’ U.S. Outlook

Gold posted the biggest monthly drop since 2013 and investors continued to pull out of funds linked to the metal on expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month. Palladium gained in its best month in more than eight years.

A report Wednesday showed companies in the U.S. created more jobs than expected, underscoring an improving labor market two days before the government’s November employment report is due. Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by bullion have contracted 5.3 percent in this month, the most since June 2013.

Gold has been battered as the dollar’s surge to the highest in at least a decade and signs that the Fed is moving closer to increasing rates reduce the metal’s appeal as a store of value. Assets in bullion-backed ETFs fell for a 13th straight day as of Tuesday, the longest stretch in almost a year.

“The whole deal is rate hikes and dollar strength, and that’s weakening the gold market,” said Phil Streible, a senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago. “Friday’s jobs report could come out very stellar. We could see more than two rate hikes next year.”

Gold futures for February delivery fell 1.4 percent to $1,173.90 an ounce at 1:42 p.m. on the Comex in New York. The metal has dropped more than 8 percent this month. It fell below $1,200 last week for the first time since February.

“It’s the old story of a rising dollar and interest-rate expectations being poisonous for gold,” said Thorsten Proettel, a commodity analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, Germany.

Data Forthcoming Releases

Courtesy: http://kalotipm.com.sg/kaloti-market-report-1st-december-2016