By Shawn Langlois, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Gold futures kicked off March with a strong move higher on Monday, continuing with what’s been a banner rebound year for the precious metal despite a slight hiccup last week.
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Gold for April delivery GCJ4 +1.71% rallied $21.10, or 1.6%, to $1,342.70 an ounce in electronic trading. May silver SIK4 +1.34% was up 23 cents, or 1.1%, to $21.47 an ounce.
The intensifying situation in Ukraine continued to provide a strong tailwind for gold prices, but those weren’t the only forces at play, according to Sharps Pixley.
“Concerns on China’s property developers’ financing and shadow banking also add to the emerging-market currencies rut, boosting the demand for safe havens,” the analyst said. “On the other hand, the gold premium in Shanghai fell to $3.60 below the London spot on Tuesday, indicating that the Chinese may view the prices [as] being too high currently.”
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Gold closed last week in the red as a rise in U.S. consumer sentiment and strength in Chicago’s business barometer helped boost demand for U.S. equities. For the week, gold logged a loss of about 0.2% — its first weekly loss in four weeks. The month as a whole was a different story: Gold jumped almost 7% for its second monthly gain in a row.
On the economic front, there’s no shortage of data that could move gold prices this week. On Monday, along with monthly car sales, the ISM manufacturing index for February and the Markit U.S. PMI manufacturing index are due to be released. Read: How to see through the economic blizzard.
Elsewhere in metals trading Monday, April platinum PLJ4 +0.45% gained $4.40 to $1,451.20, while June palladium PAM4 +0.32% tacked on $1.75 to $745.95 an ounce.
High-grade copper for May delivery HGK4 -0.50% fell 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.17 a pound.
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Shawn Langlois is an editor and writer for MarketWatch in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter@slangwise.
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