Gold advances in early U.S. trade

Forexpros – Gold futures traded higher in U.S. trade Friday, as persistent concerns over the state of the global economy lured dealers back to safe-haven bullion.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,620.15 a troy ounce during early U.S. trade, adding 0.22%, after hitting a low of USDS1,608.55.

In Thursday trade, U.S. and European stock markets got a lift from a German parliamentary vote approving an expansion of the USD600 billion European Financial Stability Facility.

But the release Friday of an unexpected drop in German retail sales sent European shares lower late in the day’s session.

Germany’s Federal Statistics Office reported that retail sales fell by a seasonally adjusted 2.9% in August, down from a 0.3% gain the previous month. Market forecasts for retail sales in Europe’s largest economy were for a 0.5% decline.

In late Friday trade, France’s CAC 40 was down 2.02% to 2,966.21, Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 2.04% to 5,090.69, and Germany’s DAX sank 2.84% to 5,479.14.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that personal income in August fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.1%, matching market expectations, while consumer spending rose by 0.2% for the month.

Research group Kingsbury International’s Chicago Purchasing Manager’s Index rose to 60.4 in September, up from 56.5 in August. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 56.0 for the month.

Profits taker cashed in on gains made in Thursday’s Wall Street session; in early U.S. trade the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.57% to 11,090.18, the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.88% to 2,458.98, and the S&P 500 shed 0.97% to 1,149.20.

Early in the month of September gold soared to an all-time high of USD1,921.05 a troy ounce due to a weakening euro and fears that Europe would be unable to solve its debt woes.

Meanwhile on the NYME, silver for December delivery lost 0.50% to trade at USD30.37 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery sank 1.55% to trade at USD3.195 a pound.