Gold Slippery After $1400

Gold futures are trading on a slippery note after it breached above $1400 an ounce earlier in the Asia electronic session today. The gains in the oil futures are also supporting the sentiments for the metal today.
Gold futures for December delivery are trading down 2 cents at $ 1395.6 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday it surged 1.95% to settle the week at $1,397.40 a troy ounce. The metal may find resistance near $ 1420 levels in the near term.
On the week, silver future prices advanced 2.1%, the fifth straight weekly gain. Silver prices are up almost 24% since hitting a three-year low of $18.19 on June 28, placing it firmly in bull-market territory.
On Friday, it rallied to 11 week high after disappointing U.S. new home sales data dampened speculation the Federal Reserve will begin to taper its bond-buying program as early as September. Gold prices added 1.5% on the week, the third consecutive weekly advance. The precious metal has rebounded nearly 16% since hitting a 34-month low of $1,180.15 a troy ounce on June 28.
The minutes of the Fed’s July meeting published on Wednesday showed that officials were "broadly comfortable" with plans to scale back the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month stimulus program. However, policymakers remain divided over the timing of possible reduction, with almost all committee members agreeing that a change in the asset purchase program was not yet appropriate.
The domestic gold futures neared the all time high mark of Rs 32464 per 10 grams on 26th November 2012 due to the XXL drop in Indian Rupee. The metal has jumped more than 28% since hitting the 2 year low of Rs 24830 per 10 grams on 28th June 2013.
The Indian government has raised the gold import duty by scorching 8% so far this year to curb imports and raise capital inflows to relieve the grinding pressure on the rupee which hit a record low of 65.42 against the dollar this week. So far in August the Indian unit has lost nearly 8% of its value, hitting the low of 65.42 against the US dollar on 22 August.
In the week ahead, investors will be looking ahead to revised data on U.S. second quarter growth, as well as reports on the housing sector and consumer confidence. Fed is scheduled to meet September 17-18 to review the economy and assess policy. 

MCX Gold witnesses modest correction after latest gains

MCX Gold futures slipped slightly in the early moves, giving up after a massive rally in the Friday's session.

Gold futures got a boost on the disappointing jobs data, which put to rest recent sentiments that the Federal Reserve may consider tightening policy in the coming months.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier the economy added 88,000 nonfarm payrolls in March, way below expectations for a gain of 200,000 and below the 268,000 jobs added in February.

The metal edged up at a ferocious pace following this, adding nearly 30 dollars in intraday moves.

The counter currently quotes at $1576.90, up $1 per ounce on the day. 

The US non farm data revealed that the private sector added 95,000 jobs last month, after an increase of 254,000 in February, missing expectations for a 209,000 rise.

The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 7.6 per cent in March, from 7.7 per cent the previous month, as more Americans left the labor force.

The news sent the dollar falling and gold rising on expectations for the Federal Reserve to keep monetary stimulus programs in place, including its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program that weakens the greenback as a side effect.

The June COMEX gold futures had tumbled to 10 month low of $1539.4 earlier this week, however it jumped back to end the fortnight at $1575.9 an ounce.

It rallied to a one-month peak in March on worries about fiscal stability in Europe, as politicians scrambled to clinch a bail-out for Cyprus.

Fear that central banks' money-printing to buy assets will stoke inflation has been a key driver in boosting gold, which rallied to an 11-month high in October after the Fed announced its third round of aggressive economic stimulus.

The international gold prices are down nearly $80 from its last year's level as the US dollar has appreciated.

The June COMEX gold futures are trading at $ 1575.9 an ounce as on 5th April 2013 whereas last year the metal has been trading near $1650 an ounce levels.

The US dollar has gained nearly 2 per cent in April 2013 compared to the same period last year. 

There could be some upside resistance for the yellow metal after the massive array of gains seen on Friday.

The US dollar is quoting just under 1.3000 levels against the Euro, coming off its two-week low levels.

MCX Gold futures slipped as the Rs 29800 barrier yet again triggered a correction.

The counter quotes at Rs 29707, down Rs 60 per 10 grams on the day with 1 per cent drop in the open interest.