Gold eases slightly

NEW YORK: Gold eased slightly early on Thursday after three days of gains as the US dollar rose and the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged, maintaining the parameters of its 1.74 trillion euro ($1.95 trillion) asset buying scheme.

The ECB has provided extraordinary stimulus in recent years, cutting interest rates into negative territory and pushing the cost of credit to all-time lows.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,266.4 an ounce by 2:46 p.m. EDT (1846 GMT), after tapping a two-week high at $1,273.82. US December gold futures settled down 0.2 percent at $1,267.50.

Gold saw good buying at the time of the ECB release, Mitsubishi analyst Jonathan Butler said. “(The) ECB will continue to have a very accommodative policy at least until December,” he said.

Ultra-low rates tend to support gold, though that is often offset by the impact of a weaker euro. The single currency fell to a four-month low against the dollar on Thursday. The dollar index rose to a seven-month high against a basket of currencies, extending gains after a stronger-than-expected US existing home sales report.

“Sales rose to 5.47 (million) during the month, that’s 3.2 percent higher than a month ago and in contrast to the most recent reading on pending home sales,” said Royce Mendes, director and senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

Traders are closely watching US data for clues about when the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, heavily tipped by a number of Fed policymakers for December.

The market also eyed Wednesday night’s final US presidential debate, which was judged not to have improved Donald Trump’s election hopes and which could potentially weigh on gold.

Meanwhile, India’s overseas purchases of gold likely hit a nine-month high in October, industry officials told Reuters, while Swiss gold exports to China hit their highest since January last month, Swiss customs data showed.

Spot palladium pared losses and was down 0.9 percent at $630 an ounce, after falling to a three-month low at $624.05.

Silver was down 0.85 percent at $17.49, while platinum was down 1.06 percent at $933.

US MIDDAY

Soya, corn, wheat retreat

CHICAGO: US soyabean, corn and wheat futures fell on Thursday, retreating from early advances as gains in the US dollar and a setback in crude oil triggered broad-based selling in commodities, analysts said.

At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 11:31 a.m. CDT (1631 GMT), November soyabeans were 3 cents lower at $9.78-1/2 per bushel. December corn was 5-1/4 cents weaker at $3.52-1/4 a bushel and December wheat was 2 cents softer at $4.18-1/4 a bushel.

Energy and metals markets were also lower, and the 19-market Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index fell about 0.9 percent.

The euro fell and the greenback rose to its highest in seven months against a basket of major currencies after the European Central Bank President left the door open to more monetary stimulus at its policy meeting.

The US Department of Agriculture reported export sales of US soyabeans in the latest week at just over 2 million tonnes, well above a range of trade expectations for 1.0 million to 1.3 million tonnes.

Also, the USDA through its daily reporting system said private exporters sold 192,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to unknown destinations in the last day. But soyabeans hit technical resistance and profit-taking after the November contract reached a one-month high at $9.89-3/4 a bushel, above its 200-day moving average.

Corn also retreated after reaching a recent high. The December contract touched $3.59-1/4 a bushel, its highest since July 19, before retreating.

The USDA reported export sales of US corn in the latest week at more than 1 million tonnes, above trade expectations for 700,000 to 900,000 tonnes.

Wheat fell, following the trend. Traders were awaiting results of a tender from Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer, as a gauge of competition between different export origins. The tender attracted five offers of wheat, all of Russian and Romanian origin.—Reuters