Gold Price Pushes Past $1,150
NEW YORK (
) -- The
Wednesday was circling $1,160 an ounce as a weaker U.S. dollar pushed gold prices higher.
Gold for June delivery was adding 40 cents to $1,153.80 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price Wednesday has traded as high as $1,162.80 and as low as $1,151. The
was slipping 0.01% to $80.41. The spot gold price was rising over $4, according to Kitco's gold index.
Gold prices today were turning to the U.S. dollar for direction. The currency was coming under pressure after the U.S. reported a wider-than-expected trade deficit. Blowout earnings from
Intel
(INTC) - Get Report
also boosted investors' risk appetite for commodities. The gold price was also finding support from the tragic China earthquake, which has killed 400 so far. Investors typically buy gold as a safe haven asset during times of global turmoil and natural disasters.
Gold prices have settled over the $1,150 resistance area for five consecutive trading session despite mild profit taking. Many analysts anticipate this momentum to continue and grow even stronger as prices make a run for the key psychological $1,200 level. "The momentum seems pretty strong," says Nicholas Brooks, head of research and investment strategy for ETF Securities. "A lot of it goes back to the dollar and to the euro. We've seen again a weakening of the dollar and that, I think, is helping push the god price up. But we're also seeing other metals go up as well. Palladium prices are now
at a more than two-year high." Although gold is short of its $1,227 high in U.S. dollar terms, prices keep making new highs in the euro and sterling.
The GFMS Wednesday released its 2010 Gold Survey in which it says strong 2009 investment demand is what helped push the gold price past $1,200. Philip Klapwijk, chairman of the independent precious metals research unit, said the GFMS has "actually raised our short-term downside for the price as we can't see a good reason for investors to dump gold." Klapwijk estimates gold will hit $1,300 by the end of the year as investment demand will offset weak jewelry demand in the short-term. Klapwijk warns that gold is "in the end game now, although that could still take a year or more to play out. But after that, it's difficult to see how we can avoid a hefty drop in prices."
was adding 15 cents to $18.40 while copper prices were flat at $3.59. Palladium was rallying over $20 to $544.
Mining stocks, a more leveraged way to
, were mixed.
Barrick Gold
(ABX)
was adding 0.45% to $40.51 as the company got a green light from a Nevada judge that allows the miner to resume operation in its Cortez Hills project.
Newmont Mining
(NEM) - Get Report
, which also has a project in Nevada, was slipping 0.39% to $53.57 while
Goldcorp
(GG)
was rising over 0.78% to $40.04.
Kinross Gold
(KGC) - Get Report
, however, was slipping 0.11% to $18.23.
Coeur d'Alene Mines
(CDE) - Get Report
was adding 0.12% to $16.75 after the company reported accelerating production results at three of its largest mines. Shares of
NovaGold
(NG) - Get Report
was rising 0.39% to $7.78 after the small miner reported first-quarter earnings of 10 cents a share.
Shares of the popular physically backed ETF,
SPDR Gold Shares
(GLD) - Get Report
were rising 0.41% to $113.21.
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--
Written by Alix Steel in New York
.
Alix joined TheStreet.com TV in February 2007. Previously, she held positions in film and theater production, management, and legal administration. Alix has a degree in communications and theater from Northwestern University.
