METALS

GOLD held near a two-week high yesterday as global shares fell after data showed Japan had slipped into recession, raising concerns about global growth, but strength in the dollar kept the metal’s gains in check.

In London, gold was fixed at $1 182.50 an ounce (R422 749 a kilogram) in the afternoon, up $13.50 from Friday’s second fix. Spot gold peaked at $1 193.95.

The metal jumped 2.3 percent on Friday, moving above the technical level of $1 180 as short-covering, fund buying and a sudden weakening of the dollar offset better-thanexpected US data.

The precious metal had fallen to a fourand-a-half year low of $1 131.85 an ounce last week, due to multi-year highs in the dollar. “Friday’s bounce has eased some nerves, and some of gold’s internal supply and demand fundamentals actually look pretty strong. But to most investors that matters little while the bearish external factors such as the stronger dollar remain such a heavy weight,” Matthew Turner, an analyst at Macquarie, said. – Reuters