Chinese retail sales up 9% during May Day holiday

BEIJING, May 3 (Xinhua) -- China's retail sales climbed 9 percent from a year ago to about 12 billion yuan (1.76 billion U.S. dollars) during the three-day May Day holiday, the Ministry of Commerce said Sunday.

The estimate was based on sales from May 1 to May 3 at 1,000 major domestic retailers monitored by the ministry.

The ministry said robust sales were reported for gold, jewelry, home appliances and autos, as retailers launched promotion campaigns.

Sales of gold and other jewelry rose 19.6 percent, the ministry said, without giving specific figures.

However, it said the Beijing Caishikou Department Store, a major gold retailer in the capital, saw its sales nearly double to 14.3 million yuan on May 1 alone.

Sales of appliances, such as LCD TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators and lap-tops, increased 11.4 percent, while those of automobiles grew 9.2 percent.

Gold edges higher, retreating from intraday high

CHICAGO, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended slightly higher on Tuesday, giving up most early gains due to dollar's solid recovery. Silver and platinum rose, too.

Gold price for June delivery gained 2.10 U.S. dollars, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 904.30 dollars an ounce. It touched as high as 916.70 dollars an ounce earlier in the session.

It was reported that about 10 of the 19 banks undergoing government stress tests are expected to boost capital, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup. Investors' concerns on this negative result sparked some safety buying for gold in the morning.

Analysts indicated there also seemed to be some early inflation-hedge buying interest in gold as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a testimony before Congress that the U.S. economy is bottoming out and will turn up later this year.

An improvement in the ISM service sector index provided another sign supporting the view that economic conditions are starting to improve.

However, gold went down sharply after touching the intraday high of 916.70 dollars as the greenback recovered quickly. By the end of gold floor trading time, the rate against euro surged to 1.3337 dollars, about 1 cent away from the lowest level of the session, forcing the precious metal to give up most gains made earlier in the session.

July silver finished at 13.42 dollars per ounce, up 30.7 cents. July platinum rose 15.90 dollars to 1137.90 dollars per ounce.

Gold ends higher on weak dollar

CHICAGO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose for the first session in three on Monday as dollar declined, adding to the appeal of the precious metal. Silver and platinum rose, too.

Gold price for June delivery gained 14 U.S. dollars, or 1.6 percent, to settle at 902.20 dollars an ounce.

Analysts indicated that the weaker dollar was the main factor underpinning gold. The dollar went down sharply during gold's floor trading time with the rate against euro sliding to 1.3415 dollars earlier in the session, the lowest level in 4 weeks. The dollar index was down 0.583 points to 83.959 shortly after gold floor trading closed. Dollar's depreciation usually is considered to increase gold's safety demand.

Economic data released on Monday showed U.S. March construction spending rose for the first time in six months and April pending home sales rose 3.2 percent, up 1.1 percent compared with a year earlier, adding signs which indicate the U.S. economic recovery ison the way. Better-than-expected prospects of economy made investors believe that gold's real demand is going to rise.

Stock market's big rally also provided support to the precious metal as the Dow Jones industrials jumped more than 2 percent in afternoon trading.

July silver finished at 13.113 dollars per ounce, up 61.3 cents. July platinum rose 25.60 dollars to 1,122 dollars per ounce.