Physical gold demand slides as Indian wedding season closes

摘要

London, New York-Global sales of physical gold have declined by almost 50 percent in recent weeks, as demand tapered off in the face of the imminent end of the wedding season in India, the world's leading consuming nation, and a rise in the international gold price of around 12 dollars over the course of a week-even though it has declined in recent days. Gold reached an afternoon fix in London of 422.50 dollars/oz on Jun 10, while the nearby COMEX August futures contract closed at 429.30 dollars/oz-up from 428.40 dollars/oz on Jun 6. The decline came about largely because the euro has fallen against the dollar following the rejection the European constitution by voters in France and the Netherlands. A Jun 9 speech by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan gave a further boost to the dollar at the expense of the European currency. Since gold has shown a strong negative correlation with the dollar, a stronger dollar means weaker gold prices. Gold prices may have slipped after failing to pierce resistance in the 427-428 dollars/oz range, but this did not influence Indian consumers to return to the market-at least by the end of last week, according to trade sources.