Gold erases gains but uptrend still intact

LONDON: Gold eased on Monday, erasing earlier gains after equities turned positive and the euro fell broadly, although persistent concern about European debt and wariness over the economic outlook would likely limit losses.

Spot gold was last down at $1,248 an ounce, by 1515 GMT, compared with $1,253.40 in New York on Friday and down from a session high of $1,262.45. Prices hit an all-time high of $1,264.90 an ounce last Monday. US gold futures for August delivery were down $6.90 to $1,249.30 an ounce.

The head of the Bombay Bullion Association said on Monday gold imports into top consumer India were likely to have fallen by 75 percent in June from 29.9 tonnes a year ago. The world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust said its holdings remained unchanged at an all-time high at 1,316.177 tonnes.

Silver was flat at $19.03 an ounce, from $19.04 late in New York on Friday, while in the platinum group metals complex, platinum was up 0.1 percent at $1,568.50 and palladium was down about 0.7 percent at $471.15.

Copper climbs: Copper neared its highest in almost a month on Monday, helped by US consumer spending data and a rise in European shares, but gains appeared limited as the demand outlook looks fragile for the coming months.

Copper for three months delivery on the London Metal Exchange rose to $6,825 a tonne at 1404 GMT, after touching a high of $6,873 a tonne and versus $6,760 on Friday, when a short-covering rally drove the metal, used in construction, to $6,875 a tonne, its highest in almost a month.

Shanghai copper’s premium over London shrank rapidly to 62 yuan from 415 yuan at Friday’s close. More than 4,600 lots of copper had gone though the LME by Shanghai’s close, greater than what typically trades during the entire Asian day.

LME aluminium was at $2,018.15 a tonne from $1,996 a tonne. Aluminium smelters in China’s Henan province plan to idle 700,000 tonnes of annual production capacity by early July on low prices and high costs in the world’s biggest manufacturer of the metal.

Zinc was at $1,870 a tonne from $1,875 while lead was at $1,841 from $1,815. Tin was at $18,150 from $18,125. Nickel was at $20,225 a tonne compared with $19,750. It hit a one-week high of $20,375 a tonne earlier.