Bullion: Gold continued its losing streak for the second straight week
Bullion: Gold continued its losing streak for the second straight week at the domestic bullion market on the back of poor demand from jewellers as well as persistent selling by stockists.
Lack of local buying support at existing levels and unwinding of long positions by speculative traders also added pressure on precious metal. Asian physical gold demand improved slightly this week as a correction in prices prompted consumers to buy for the upcoming festival and wedding season, with discounts in India narrowing to their smallest in three months.
The yellow-metal has lost a whopping 2.30 per cent in its two-week slide. Elsewhere, silver rebounded from its last week fall, to close above the significant Rs 45,000 mark due to speculative buying coupled with higher industrial demand.
In worldwide trade, Gold futures settled higher yesterday, erasing a loss for the week, after data showing slower US jobs growth in August appeared to lower the potential for an interest-rate increase at the Federal Reserve meeting later this month.
The employment data initially pressured the dollar, prompting gold, which is largely traded in the US currency, to tap highs above USD 1,333. The yellow metal pared some of its gains, however, as the dollar strengthened again on shifting expectations for the timing of a rate hike.
New York Gold eked out a gain of less than 0.1 per cent for the week, while silver logged a roughly 3.3 per cent gain for the week after suffering a decline of more than 8 per cent in August, based on the most-active contract.
