LONDON, 14 November 2003 — Gold bullion raced to its highest level since May 1996 in Europe yesterday as the safe-haven metal sucked in cash from investors seeking refuge from a weakening dollar and stocks.
Analysts remained cautious regarding gold’s chances of punching through the psychological $400 barrier though and were wary of imminent profit taking.
“We’ve come a long way (from lows of last week under $376.00) and I think an y sane-minded person would be keen to take some profits at these levels,” said Simon Weeks, bullion director with ScotiaMocatta.
Gold finished European trading at $395.05/395.80 a troy ounce, up from New York’s previous close at $394.00/394.50, but off an earlier peak at $397.55.
Other metals put in equally strong performances, with silver trading around 3-3/4 year highs and platinum touching another 23-year peak in the wake of gold’s rush higher.
Meanwhile, the dollar remained under pressure in late European trades yesterday. The single European currency was at 1.1706 dollars from 1.1631 late on Wednesday in New York. The dollar was at 108.30 yen from 108.86 on Wednesday.
European stock markets edged higher yesterday. The British FTSE 100 closed 0.04 percent higher at 4,373.0 points, the German DAX 30 rose 0.46 percent to 3,765.59 points and the French CAC 40 inched up 0.04 percent 3,412.55 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading euro-zone shares firmed 0.37 percent to 2,636.78 points. By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 27.85 points, or 0.28 percent, at 9,820.98.
