From Bloomberg – Investors returned to gold just in time for the longest price rally in a month amid mounting tension over Ukraine.
Money managers increased their net-long position in gold in the week ended April 22, snapping a four-week retreat that was the longest this year. The metal climbed in the next three days, sending futures to the best start to a year since 2006.
Bullion reached a six-month high after Russia annexed Crimea last month, and then fell almost 9 percent on signs that peace would return. Hostilities last week fueled demand for haven assets as the 28-nation European Union prepared to impose more sanctions against Russians in positions of power.
“You’re going to get a lot of backwards and forwards in gold,” Adrian Day, president of Adrian Day Asset Management in Annapolis, Maryland, said April 24. “The gold situation has been compounded by Ukraine. I’m very bullish on gold, but it’s going to be a trade for the patient.”
Futures rose 0.5 percent to $1,300.80 an ounce last week on the Comex in New York. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities fell 0.5 percent, while the MSCI All-Country World Index of equities dropped 0.2 percent and the Bloomberg Treasury Bond Index gained 0.3 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.