Gold finishes higher on inflation worries, rising oil

CHICAGO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose slightly on Wednesday as the slowing job loss data foretold an economic recovery as well as inflation ahead. Silver and platinum ended higher, too.

Gold price for June delivery gained 6.70 U.S. dollars, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 911 dollars an ounce.

An unofficial institute, the ADP Employer Services, reported that private sector employment fell by 491,000 last month, much lower than the 708,000 jobs lost in March. The ADP report indicated meanwhile unemployment is likely to rise for several more months, but at a slower rate. This is considered one of the new signs that the economy is recovering.

However, the bullish job loss data raised the prospects of inflation ahead since the government's stimulus plan injected so huge an amount of money into the markets. Any economic improvement may lead to the possibility of inflation down the road, said analysts.

Safe-haven buying to hedge the inflation risk fueled gold to climb, despite the firm dollar in the day session.

The stronger crude oil provided another supportive factor to the precious metal with June delivery contract up more than 2 dollars to 55.90 dollars a barrel by the end of gold floor trading time.

July silver finished at 13.71 dollars per ounce, up 29 cents. July platinum rose 5.20 dollars to 1,143.190 dollars an ounce.

Dollar falls amid better-than-expected economic data

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NEW YORK, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The dollar fell against most major currencies on Tuesday as U.S. consumer confidence soared and house price decline slowed.

The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its consumer confidence index soared from 26.9 in March to 39.2 in April, the highest since November. It was much higher than economists' forecast of 29.0.

The report shows that U.S. consumers are gaining confidence about future economic conditions. But the index remains at low level, compared to a reading over 110 in July 2007.

U.S. house prices continued to fall at a rapid but slightly slower pace in February, according to the Case-Shiller house price index released on Tuesday.

House prices in the 20 largest U.S. metropolitan areas fell by 18.6 percent year-on-year, up from the record loss of 19 percent in January. It was slightly better than analysts' expectation, suggesting that house prices are getting closer to a bottom.

Worries about swine flu threat partly offset the positive economic reports. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday raised its pandemic alert level from Phase 3 to Phase 4, warning of a significant increase in the risk of a pandemic.

Investors worried that a possible pandemic may deal another severe blow to the struggling global economy, reverse any progress of recovery.

The euro bought 1.3147 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.3019 dollars it bought late Monday. The pound fell to 1.4620 dollars from 1.4633 dollars.

The dollar fell to 1.2190 Canadian dollars from 1.2197, and fell to 1.1440 Swiss francs from 1.1568. It fell to 96.45 Japanese yen from 96.74.