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Gold Holds Its Gains

Simon Constable

Gold futures were edging slightly higher Monday, but with little activity in foreign exchange the market lacked direction.

Contracts for February delivery of gold closed up 30 cents at $650.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The bullion exchange-traded funds, which hold the metal, were, however, moving lower, with streetTracks Gold Shares (GLD Quote) and iShares Comex Gold Trust (IAU Quote) recently losing 0.1% and 0.03%, respectively.

"Gold appears to be pausing after the solid gains over the past few weeks," says James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. "Dips continue to find good buying interest, though, with traders looking to the dollar and this week's jobs data for its next leg."

Data watchers are forecasting the Labor Department will report a 4.5% unemployment rate for November on Friday, slightly up from 4.4% in October. On Tuesday, the Commerce Department is expected to release data showing that factory orders fell 4% in October, down from a 2.1% gain in September. Both will be important in helping determine the health of the U.S. economy and the future direction of the dollar, which has been in something of a tailspin lately.

Currency markets were mixed, with the greenback recently gaining on the euro at $1.3322, vs. $1.3336 Friday. The dollar was, however, losing against the yen, buying 115.4 yen, down from 115.47 yen previously. Gold prices tend to move in the opposite direction to changes in the value of the U.S. currency.

In the gold patch, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX Quote) was lifting in line with the broader indices, up 0.8% recently, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was gaining 79.39 points at 12,273.52, ahead by 0.65%.

Elsewhere, shares of Eldorado Gold (EGO Quote) were rallying 3.1%, while those of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX Quote) were losing 0.7%.

In base metals, March-dated Comex copper contracts were unchanged at $3.176 a pound.

In the ferrous sector, shares of iron ore miner Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (RIO Quote) were rallying 2.7% after a report in The Wall Street Journal that prices for iron ore could rise up to 10% in 2007, following a close to 20% spike this year.