Commodities: Gold supplants crude as traders embrace its safe-haven appeal
Updated : 17:04
Gold supplanted crude oil futures as the centre of traders' attentions on Tuesday as the yellow metal got a boost higher on its safe-haven appeal ahead of 'blockbuster' Thursday.
At about 15:23 BST, on Comex, gold rose 1.02% to $1295.8 an ounce. Silver added 0.59% to $17.69 an ounce, and copper fell 0.08% to 255.55 cents a pound.
"Safe-havens, led by precious metal gold, are enjoying dramatically increased demand ahead of Thursday's three key market events," said Henry Croft, research analyst at Accendo Markets.
On Thursday, the market would be glued to the UK election, European Central Bank policy meeting and also the testimony of ex-FBI boss James Comey.
Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said the focus remained firmly fixed on Thursday's blockbuster schedule and what it could mean for the future of politics either side of the Atlantic.
"UK election polls have been widely conflicting of late, reflecting the significant impact different methodology has upon results," said Mahony.
On London Metals Exchange, three-month industrial metals were firmly down. Zinc fell 1.74%, aluminum dropped 1.45%, tin shed 0.76% and copper dropped 0.65%.
Turning to oil, Nymex-priced West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.32% to $47.25 a barrel. Intercontinental Exchange-traded Brent shed 0.44% to $49.25 a barrel.
Both grades were at roughly month lows, these on concerns about the sufficiency of Opec's production curb extension, and also Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and United Arab Emirates having severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.
"The ongoing weakness seen in oil prices continues to highlight how oversupply woes in the markets have hindered investor attraction towards the commodity," said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga.
"In the headlines, the Saudi-led alliance cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar does not actually change the heavily bearish outlook for the oil markets.
"With oversupply concerns still a recurrent theme, and Opec's efforts to re-balance the markets repeatedly sabotaged by US Shale production, WTI crude remains vulnerable to downside risks."