Gold, Silver Advance as Dollar's Fall Boosts Investment Demand
By Danielle Rossingh and Jesse Riseborough
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Gold and silver climbed as the dollar headed for its fourth consecutive weekly decline against the euro, spurring investors to buy the precious metals as an alternative investment to U.S. stocks and bonds.
The European currency rose to a 27-month high against the dollar after European Central bank policy maker Axel Weber said the bank can't signal it's finished raising interest rates yet because of the ``extremely positive'' outlook for the euro- region economy, Handelsblatt reported today, citing an interview. Gold generally moves counter to the dollar.
``The current bearish sentiment towards the dollar may encourage diversification away from the greenback,'' James Moore, a precious-metals analyst with TheBullionDesk.com, said in an e-mailed note.
Gold for immediate delivery in London rose $3.10, or 0.5 percent, to $686.05 an ounce at 10:06 a.m. local time. The metal has advanced 0.1 percent this week. Silver for immediate delivery gained 12.5 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $13.805 an ounce.
The dollar was at $1.3605 versus the euro, from $1.3612 late yesterday in New York. The euro was further buoyed by comments from Luxembourg Prime and Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker who said there was ``no reason for panic'' about the current strength of the currency.
``Gold seems to be benefiting from the weakness in the U.S. dollar and it has been pushed around by currency movements in recent times,'' said David Moore, a commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. ``Fundamentally, there is evidence that investors are long gold and that does mean it can be vulnerable to occasional pullbacks.''
Platinum, Palladium Climb
Gold may rise to $750 an ounce by the end of the year because of pressure on Asian countries to increase the value of their currencies against the dollar, according to Dundee Wealth Management Co.
``Pressure is beginning to mount more dramatically on the dollar to go down,'' Martin Murenbeeld, Dundee's chief economist, said in an interview yesterday at the European Gold Forum in Zurich. ``I am a little more positive on gold.''
Also in London, platinum climbed $18.50, or 1.4 percent, to $1,315.50 an ounce while palladium rose $4, or 1.1 percent, to $381 an ounce.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jesse Riseborough in Melbourne at jriseborough@bloomberg.net ; Danielle Rossingh in London at drossingh@bloomberg.net


![[نمودار هر اونس طلا برحسب دلار آمریکا]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[نمودار هر اونس پالادیوم برحسب دلار آمریکا]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/palladium/t24_pd_en_usoz_2.gif)



