The greenback is trading at a three-month high against the yen and rising against the euro.
It may be counter-intuitive. A strengthening dollar has the unintended consequence of hurting the metals market. First, it dulls the luster of buying gold and other precious metals as an investment. Second, it makes them more costly for buyers using other currencies.
Gold in New York dropped to its lowest in two months Thursday. Investment in gold ETFs dropped 68% to 36 tons in the first quarter, according to the World Gold Council. Purchases of gold by investors sank 26% in the first quarter from the year-ago period to 147 tons, the producer-funded group said.
StreetTracks Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD - News), iShares Comex Gold Trust (AMEX:IAU - News) and PowerShares DB Gold Fund (AMEX:DGL - News) all shed 3% this month.
But gold miners are taking it harder than bullion. Market Vectors Gold Miners (AMEX:GDX - News) also lost 3% in May, but it's down 4% year to date. StreetTracks Gold and iShares Comex Gold are still ahead 3% for the year.
Both iShares Silver Trust (AMEX:SLV - News) and PowerShares DB Silver Fund (AMEX:DBS - News) slumped 4% this month.
PowerShares DB Precious Metals Fund (AMEX:DBP - News) reflects the price of both gold and silver. It fell 3.5% in May.
Base Metals
Copper fell the most in three months and settled at a six-week low in New York trade as rising production and worries of softening demand in China had took a toll.
Chinese production jumped 17% in April to a record 274,000 tons, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Inventories in China, the world's biggest consumer of the red metal, are at a three-year high after record imports in the first quarter. Global stockpiles climbed 56% in the past 12 months, said an industry group.
Copper prices have almost tripled in three years on the expectation of long-term growth in China and India.
But that appears to have been offset by weakness in U.S. housing construction, where it's used for wires and pipes.
PowerShares DB Base Metals (AMEX:DBB - News), which includes aluminum, zinc and copper prices, gapped down 3% Thursday. It has plunged 10% since reaching a five-month high May 4.
Source : news.yahoo.com
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