LONDON: Gold rose two per cent to above $1,200 an ounce on Wednesday, heading for a second session of gains as the dollar hit a near three-month low after disappointing US employment data.

US retail sales were also unchanged in April as households cut back on purchases of automobiles and other big-ticket items, suggesting the economy was struggling to make a strong rebound after barely growing in the first quarter.

Spot gold hit a five-week high of $1,218 an ounce after the US data and was trading up 1.9pc at $1,217.60 an ounce by 1432 GMT.

The metal added to Tues­day’s one per cent gains, when it benefited from the softer dollar and volatility in global bond markets.

Silver climbed 3.3pc to a five-week high of $17.10 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.9pc to $1,140.62 an ounce, while palladium was up 0.3pc at $784.72 an ounce.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2015

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