Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures rose Thursday as an early dip in the U.S. dollar and questions over a possible European Union agreement to aid debt-burdened Greece attracted investors to an asset sometimes prized as an alternative to paper currencies. Gold for April delivery rose $4.10 an ounce, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,092.90 an ounce by the close of floor trading on the New York Stock Exchange. For June delivery, gold futures rose $4.20, or 0.4%, to $1094.10 an ounce. The dollar index, the benchmark used to track the greenback against a basket of global currencies, reversed higher as the gold trading session wound down, rising to 82.06. It had fallen as low as 81.6 earlier.

Doug Keller, managing director of Harvest Capital Services, said the higher gold prices owed more to fear about sovereign debt issues in Greece and Portugal. "It's getting its bid from the credit-fear perspective as opposed to a pure currency perspective," Keller said. According to George Gero, metals analyst at RBC Capital Markets, gold prices began firming during European trade "as the euro steadied near 10-month lows against the dollar, removing some downward pressure from the precious metal." See full story.