London: Gold eased on Monday as the prospect of a fractured parliament in Germany following Chancellor Angela Merkel’s less than resounding election victory over the weekend knocked the euro lower.
Consequent dollar strength helped push gold back towards Thursday’s low of $1,287.61 (Dh4,729.39) an ounce, its weakest since August 25, which fed into a second straight weekly decline for the metal.
Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,294.46 an ounce at 1145 GMT, while US gold futures for December delivery were 40 cents an ounce lower at $1,297.10.
Gold has now slipped nearly 5 per cent from the more than one-year high it hit on September 8, largely on the back of concerns over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, which have now waned.
“If the dollar continues to rally and North Korea stays quiet, gold can continue to fall,” David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron, said. “But all it will take is one missile launch or similar, and we will rally back up above $1,300 again.”
The euro slid 0.7 per cent against the dollar and southern European government bonds sold off after the German election result sparked fears of a more hardline stance towards the Eurozone in the bloc’s largest economy.
Weakened by a surge in support for the far right, Germany’s Merkel will have to sound out partners to build a coalition government after securing a fourth term as chancellor in Sunday’s election.
Gold has also come under pressure from rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift US interest rates once more this year, and start trimming the $4.5 trillion in bonds and other assets it built up following the 2008 financial crisis.
“The US Federal Reserve started its balance sheet reduction last week as well as still pricing in a one-time rate hike by year-end,” OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan said. “This still has a strong influence in pushing gold prices lower.”
Physical gold demand remained soft in the major Asian markets last week despite lower prices, as consumers awaited further dips, while a government move to bring transparency to bullion trading kept buyers on the sidelines in India.
Silver was 0.2 per cent lower at $16.90 an ounce, after falling more than 3.5 per cent last week in the biggest weekly decline since early July.
Platinum was up 0.2 per cent at $932.50 an ounce, off an eight-week low hit on Thursday, while palladium was 0.5 per cent higher at $912 an ounce.
