West Texas
Intermediate crude rose from the lowest level in one month as the U.S. dollar
weakened against a basket of major currencies after a report showed
Crude
gained as the Dollar Index fell as much as 0.5 percent, raising the investment
appeal of commodities priced in the currency. Manufacturing in the
WTI crude
for July delivery gained $1.33, or 1.5 percent, to $93.30 a barrel at 10:15
a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all futures traded was
5 percent below the 100-day average for the time of day. The futures ended at
$91.97 on May 31, the lowest settlement since May 1. Prices slid 1.6 percent in
May.
Brent oil
for July settlement rose $1.92, or 1.9 percent, to $102.31 a barrel on the
London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after closing May 31 at the lowest
settlement since May 1. Volume for all contracts was 29 percent above the
100-day average.
During the last hours of gold
showed growth due to a weaker dollar after weak data from the
Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
Manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in May for the first time since November 2012. Reported Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector in the U.S. in May fell to 49.0 against 50.7 in April. Values above 50 indicate an increase in activity in the sector.
Economists had expected the May PMI index was 50.6. The May index was the lowest since June 2009.
In May, gold fell more than 6 percent as investors feared that the Fed will cut the amount of buying up bonds. However, consumer spending in the U.S. fell in April for the first time in nearly a year, and inflation fell, prompting hope for preservation of the policy of "quantitative easing."
Demand for gold in India in the second half of the year will be as high as last year, as the forecast assumes a significant amount of monsoon rains that will bring good income to farmers - the main buyers of gold, said the head of the World Gold Council.
Stocks of the world's largest exchange-traded fund backed by gold (ETF) SPDR Gold Trust stopped falling after almost three weeks. Stocks rose on Wednesday and unchanged since then.
The cost of the August gold futures on COMEX today rose to 1408.70 dollars an ounce.