Gold rallied for the 5th day in a row as global stocks declined and news that France sold as much as 8 billion euros of debt today. Many still fear that the European debt crisis will still bring down the entire world economy which is why investors flock to gold as a safety investment.
Lynn Thomasson and Satoshi Kawano
Thursday, January 5, 2012
San Fransisco Chronicle
Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rallied for a fifth day, the Australian dollar weakened and global stocks declined before France sells as much as 8 billion euros ($10.4 billion) of debt today. Oil held near an eight-month high.
Bullion for immediate delivery increased 0.5 percent to $1,618.95 an ounce as of 8:29 a.m. in London. The so-called Aussie retreated 0.7 percent to $1.0296, depreciating against 15 of its 16 major counterparts. The MSCI All-Country World Index fell 0.3 percent and Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures slid 0.4 percent. Crude was little changed at $103.10 a barrel amid expectations that sanctions against Iran may curb supply.
Speculation that Europe's debt crisis will infect the global economy increased after Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said deeper cuts in incomes are the only way for the country to remain in the euro area and receive more financing from international creditors to avert an economic collapse. Data today from the Institute for Supply Management may show U.S. service industries expanded in December at the fastest pace in three months, based on a Bloomberg survey of economist estimates.
"Problems sparked by the European debt crisis are reigniting and people in the market have reaffirmed that the situation has not changed," said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $600 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in Tokyo. "That's weakening the euro and hurting exporters with a heavy reliance on Europe."
The euro fell 0.3 percent to 1.2909. The French bond sale follows a German auction yesterday when it sold 4.1 billion euros of bonds, getting more bids than its maximum target of 5 billion euros. Italy and Spain are among countries that in the coming weeks will sell debt that may reach 262 billion euros in the first quarter, according to Deutsche Bank AG forecasts.
S&P 500 futures declined to 1,268.50. Hiring in the U.S. probably rose for a second month, the Labor Department may report tomorrow.
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