SYDNEY, June 1 (Reuters) - Gold climbed to its highest in
almost two weeks on Tuesday after warnings from the European
Central Bank and China about economic recovery.
Gold touched a high of $1,221.75 an ounce early on Tuesday,
up after news that China's official purchasing managers' index
(PMI) fell to 53.9 in May from 55.7 in April, close to analysts
forecasts of 54.0. []
However, for the 15th straight month, the official PMI
stood above the threshold of 50 that demarcates expansion from
contraction.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold <XAU=> climbed $7.55 to $1,221.75 an ounce
versus the last notional close, the highest price since May 19,
according to Reuters data.
* U.S. gold futures for August delivery <GCQ0> were up $5.40
to $1,220.40 an ounce from the previous day.
* The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the
SPDR Gold Trust <GLD>, said its holdings were unchanged at a
record 1,267.930 tonnes as of May 28. []
* The European Central Bank warned Monday that euro zone
banks face up to 195 billion euros in a "second wave" of
potential loan losses over the next 18 months due to the
financial crisis, and disclosed it had increased purchases of
euro zone government bonds. []
* The warnings came after China had warned that the global
economy remained vulnerable to sovereign debt risks.
MARKETS
* European equities closed higher on Monday, led by shares
of German exporters, but a downgrade of Spain's credit rating
weighed on Madrid-listed stocks.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <> index of top European shares
closed the holiday-thin session up 0.3 percent, at 1,001.11
points, capping off its worst month since February 2009. The
index shed 5.8 percent in May. U.S. and UK stocks markets were
closed on Monday for public holidays.
* The U.S. dollar was steady in thin trade on Tuesday
waiting for direction when forex dealers return to work after
the Memorial Day long weekend. []
* Light crude oil for July delivery <CLc1> advanced about a
percent in early Tuesday to $74.47 per barrel. []
DATA/EVENTS
* China May manufacturing PMI (0100 GMT)
* Australia central bank rate decision (0430 GMT)
* German April retail sales (0600 GMT)
* German May manufacturing PMI (0753 GMT)
* Euro zone May manufacturing PMI (0753 GMT)
* German May unemployment rate (0800 GMT)
* U.K. May manufacturing PMI (0828 GMT)
* Euro zone April unemployment rate (0900 GMT)
* U.S. April construction spending (1400 GMT)
* U.S. May ISM manufacturing index (1400 GMT)
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[]
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[]
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[]
Precious metals prices
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1220.50 6.30 +0.52 11.39
Spot Silver 18.59 0.10 +0.54 10.46
Spot Platinum 1565.50 7.00 +0.45 6.71
Spot Palladium 464.25 -0.85 -0.18 14.49
TOCOM Gold 3582.00 5.00 +0.14 9.91
14184
TOCOM Platinum 4605.00 -6.00 -0.13 5.02
6051
TOCOM Silver 55.00 0.40 +0.73 6.38 226
TOCOM Palladium 1367.00 2.00 +0.15 17.34 198
Euro/Dollar 1.2259
Dollar/Yen 90.97
TOCOM prices in yen per gram, except TOCOM silver which is
priced in yen per 10 grams. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Reporting by James Regan, Editing by Himani Sarkar)
