Gold, silver rise as greenback retreats

Gold prices climbed and silver rose as much as 5 per cent in Europe yesterday, recovering some of last week's heavy losses, as a drop in the dollar encouraged a rebound in the beleaguered commodities complex. Oil prices rose more than $1 (Dh3.67) a barrel and base metals like copper also recovered, after commodities were hit by broad-based selling on Thursday on growth concerns and a rally in the US currency, which made dollar-priced assets more expensive. Spot gold was bid at $1,509.39 an ounce at 1138 GMT, against $1,502.35 late in New York on Thursday, while US gold futures for June delivery rose $2.40 an ounce to $1,509.20. Silver was at $35.61 an ounce against $34.60. "Today economic data out of the Eurozone has been positive, which supported stock markets and the euro, and the dollar weakened, which is supportive for commodities in general, and in particular the precious metals," said Peter Fertig, a consultant at Quantitative Commodity Research "But the market is still very nervous about the recent volatility and selloff in commodities. Economic forecasts might be revised to the downside," he said. "It is still a bit early to conclude that we are now in recovery." Heavy selling of silver on Wednesday and Thursday, directly following the metal's worst one-week slide on record last week, helped drag gold lower. The metal has plunged by more than a third since hitting record highs at $49.51 late last month. from / Gulf News