NEW YORK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - COMEX gold jumped in options-focused trade early Wednesday, speeding to its highest in 3 months amid speculation that the agreement limiting European gold sales will soon be extended.
At 0911 EDT, December gold GCZ3 was up $4.20 at $371.00 an ounce, trading $364.40 to $373.50, its highest since May 27. Gold accelerated as stop-buy orders were triggered above the summer peaks at $368.80 and $369.70
"They were looking for a breakout over that $368.70/$370.00 (area) for a while," said a floor broker.
A rebounding euro also made dollar priced gold a better buy in Europe.
Dealers said the flurry at the New York open was related to the expiration of over-the-counter options in London, with funds gunning to get $370 call options into the money.
On top of that was anticipation of next month's International Monetary Fund world economic forum in Dubai, where some traders seem to be betting that the 1999 Washington Accord will be renegotiated, possibly with more countries and a higher cap.
The agreement limited total gold sales from participating European central banks to 400 tonnes per year for 5 years.
"(Gold rose on) options expiry and a lot of people are focusing on this end-of-September central bank meeting," said a bullion trader.
"The funds have been monster buyers and you have got to wonder what they are hearing," he said. "It just lends credibility to an agreement if the funds are really strapping it on."
With gold performing so well this year, traders try to put a bullish spin on any news.
Tuesday's sale of 20 tonnes of bullion by the Central Bank of Greece took dealers by surprise and raised hopes that Greece might be among possible new signatories to the agreement, adding more predictability to the flow of central bank gold to the market.
Speculators continue to buy even though one of the largest ever net noncommercial long positions is hanging over the COMEX. Funds held 89,998 contracts worth of bullish bets last week, bigger than their long position when gold struck 6-1/2 year highs in February around $390 an ounce.
Spot gold XAU= was quoted at $370.10/0.85, up from the close at $364.75/5.50. London's morning fix was at $364.30.
September silver 0#SI: was up 7.3 cents at $5.075 an ounce, matching the Aug 7 high in a $4.99-$5.09 range.
December is becoming the active silver contract and most of the volume was rollovers before September first notice day on Friday.
Spot silver XAG= was at $5.06/08, up from $4.98/5.00 late Tuesday. The fix was $4.995.
NYMEX October platinum 0#PL: surged $15.30 to $710 an ounce, hitting a new contract high at $712. Spot XPT= fetched $706.00/711.00 making a 23 year high.
"It's just bank and fund buying on the back of the gold," said a dealer at a platinum group metals refining company.
September palladium 0#PA: was off $3.50 at $203 an ounce. Spot palladium XPD= fetched $196.00/201.00.
COMEX gold jumps to 3-month high, options, IMF eyed
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27-08-2003 10:05
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