SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Gold ticked lower on Tuesday, heading for its biggest monthly loss since May, after disappointing corporate earnings and as investors sold gold holdings to cover losses in other markets that have been hurt by global economic uncertainty.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Gold hit a low near $1,704 an ounce and was at $1,708.84 by 0030 GMT, little changed from Monday, with dealers expecting the metal to trade in a narrow range ahead of the U.S. non-farm payrolls report on Friday.
The Fed has explicitly tied the extent of its latest buyback of mortgage bond-buybacks to the jobs market recovery.
* U.S. gold for December added $1.20 to $1,709.90 an ounce.
* U.S. economic growth picked up slightly more than expected in the third quarter, data showed on Friday, though global giants Apple and Amazon, European car maker Renault and electronics group Ericsson all posted results that fell short of expectations.
MARKET NEWS
* The euro remained steady near $1.2903. The currency has been struggling to break out of a wider $1.2800/3200 range set in previous weeks as investors waited for Spain to seek a bailout and trigger the European Central Bank’s bond-buying programme.
* Japan’s Nikkei share average edged higher in early trade on Tuesday ahead of a much-anticipated meeting by the Bank of Japan, which is widely expected to ease monetary policy.
* U.S. crude oil futures slipped to just above $85 a barrel on Tuesday, near the lowest in more than three months, as Hurricane Sandy shut East Coast refineries, roads and airports, reducing crude and fuel demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Source: Reuters
