By Pham-Duy Nguyen - Mar 18, 2011 8:02 AM MT
BLOOMBERG
Gold climbed for the third straight day on investor demand for an alternative to gyrating currencies.
The Bank of Japan (8301) has been pouring cash into the financial system to stabilize money markets following last week’s earthquake. The yen fell the most in more than two years against the dollar as the Group of Seven nations agreed to intervene jointly in the foreign-exchange market. The dollar headed for a weekly decline against a basket of six major currencies.
“People look at the moves in the currencies, and they want to buy gold as a safe haven,” said Frank Lesh, a trader at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. “Gold is an international currency and a stable currency at the moment.”
Gold futures for April delivery rose $16.80, or 1.2 percent, to $1,421 an ounce at 10:59 a.m. on the Comex in New York. The metal reached a record $1,445.70 on March 7.
Silver futures for May delivery gained 92.7 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $35.185 an ounce.
Palladium futures for June delivery climbed $12.05, or 1.7 percent, to $728.85 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Platinum futures for April delivery advanced $13, or 0.8 percent, to $1,719.90 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
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