SINGAPORE, June 17: Gold fell in early Asian trading on Monday as investors await indications from a key U.S. Federal Reserve meeting this week on the pace of the central bank’s bond buying programme.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold eased 0.2 percent to $1,387.24 an ounce by 0022 GMT. Bullion closed up about 0.5 percent for the week on Friday helped by strong demand for coins and bars, a pullback in U.S. stocks and rising tensions in the Middle East.
* U.S. Gold fell slightly to $1,386.9.
* Markets have been on the edge since May 22 when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bank could scale back its stimulus programme if the economy improves.
* A reduction in the $85 billion monthly bond purchases could hurt gold, typically seen as a hedge against inflation. The Fed meets on June 18-19.
* Hedge funds and money managers slashed their bullish bets in gold and silver futures and options in the week to June 11, a report by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.
* Gold output in Australia, the No. 2 producer behind China, fell 5 percent in the first quarter on weather-related disruption to 63.5 tonnes, according to the latest Gold Quarterly Review by Surbiton Associates.
* HSBC lowered its platinum price forecasts for this year and next, even though supplies are tight, because the metal has been influenced by the sharp sell-off in gold.
* Anglo American Platinum said on Saturday operations at its Thembelani mine in South Africa were back to normal after a ‘group of employees’ on Friday prevented 2,400 workers from going above ground.
(agencies)
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