SINGAPORE, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Gold edged up on Monday after posting its biggest weekly gain since late August on safe-haven buying driven by worries the United States could return to recession if Congress fails to reach a deficit-reduction deal.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Gold added $3.03 an ounce to $1,733.94 by 0025 GMT, holding near a 3-week high around $1,738 struck on Friday.
* U.S. gold for December rose $3.30 an ounce to $1,734.20.
* Congress and President Barack Obama may return after the presidential elections with a plan – perhaps a temporary fix – to avoid the $600 billion in tax increases and budget cuts set to start in January.
* The Agricultural Bank of China plans to launch trading of precious metals overseas in the next year or two, even though Chinese investors’ enthusiasm for the metals has cooled this year, a senior executive said.
* Comments by China’s two top banking officials playing down the risks of bad debt in the banking system provided the latest upbeat comments from Beijing suggesting seven straight quarters of slowing growth have ended.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares were capped on Monday as investor sentiment was weighed down by concerns over U.S. fiscal woes as well as Greece’s bailout, despite improving economic data from the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China.
* The euro held above a two-month low in early Asian trading on Monday after Greece’s ruling coalition secured enough votes in parliament on Sunday to approve the 2013 budget law, but its gains were seen limited ahead of a meeting by euro zone finance ministers later in the session.
Source: Reuters
