Gold firms as appetite for European stocks wanes
Gold firmed on Monday after three straight weeks of losses as appetite for assets seen as higher risk, such as stocks, was hurt by soft euro zone data and political deadlock in Italy and the United States.
Gold is down more than 5 percent this year, pressured by perceptions that stocks and other higher-yielding assets may offer a better return as global growth recovers. Its correlation with European stock markets turned negative last month.
European shares fell on Monday, however, as a political stalemate in the United States, where spending cuts that automatically kicked in on Friday threaten to dampen growth, hurt investor confidence.
The euro hit session lows against the dollar after a survey by research group Sentix showed euro zone sentiment fell in March for the first time in six months, due to fears of renewed political uncertainty following Italy's inconclusive election.
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