LONDON: Gold climbed more than 3% to its highest level in more than a week on Wednesday, as the euro surged to a session peak versus the dollar and oil prices recovered from a 22-month low.
Platinum prices held firm after rallying as much as 3% after an upbeat industry report from top platinum refiner Johnson Matthey on Tuesday and the announcement of mine closures triggered shortcovering.
Spot gold rose to $762.30 an ounce, its highest level since Nov. 10 and was at $759.85 an ounce by 1502 GMT versus $736.35 an ounce in New York late on Tuesday.
"We're higher in euro/dollar and the oil prices gained since we have seen the lows this morning," said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of sales at German metals trading group Heraeus.
The euro rose to a session high against the dollar in a move analysts said was related to a large buy order for the single currency. The euro rose suddenly to a session high of $1.2790 from around $1.2640. It last traded at $1.2782.
Oil prices, which sank to a 22-month low earlier in the day, erased gains and bounced. US crude oil futures CLc1 rose by 67 cents to $55.05 a barrel.
"There is not any physical demand at the moment, but the rise is more because of investors and speculators looking at the external factors such as oil prices and the dollar and reacting," he said.
Gold tends to move in the opposite direction of the dollar as a strong US currency makes bullion more expensive for local currency holders while firmer oil prices boost gold's appeal as a hedge against the inflation.
The metal now trades nearly 10% down compared with the end of 2007 and has lost more than 26% since it struck a record high of $1,030.80 an ounce in March.
Published on 
Tags:
