Gold Down Again After A Upswing

Mumbai-India (Feb 26)  Gold futures slipped down again in the Asia electronic trades today after swinging higher above $1340 an ounce overnight as a widely-watched gauge of U.S. consumer confidence came in weaker than expected raising expectations that the Fed may reduce the pace of QE windup.

Gold futures for April delivery are trading down $1 at $ 1341.7 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Yesterday, it ended up $4.70, or 0.4%, at $1,342.70 an ounce.

The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index slipped to 78.1 in February from 79.4 in January, mainly due to concerns over general business conditions, jobs and earnings. Analysts were expecting the index to tick up to 80.0.

The present situation index rose to its highest level in almost six years, but the expectations index declined, indicating that while consumers believe the economy has improved they do not foresee further considerable improvement in the coming months.

Also on Tuesday, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller house price index rose 13.4% in December from a year earlier, the best December reading in eight years and slightly ahead of forecasts for a 13.3% gain.

The weak US dollar also bolstered gains in the yellow metal. The ICE dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six rival currencies, fell to 80.158 from 80.212 late Monday. The euro edged up to $1.3740 from $1.3733 late Monday.

MCX April bullion futures may open today’s session near Rs 30220 levels with support around Rs 30170 levels.

Source:  India Infoline