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.

Bank of Mexico raises 2009 inflation forecast

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

MEXICO CITY, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Mexico on Wednesday raised its inflation forecast by 0.25 points for the rest of this year after the first quarter figure reached 6.18 percent.

The central bank in its quarterly report estimated that inflation will reach as high as 6.0 percent, 5.25 percent and 4.5 percent in the next three quarters respectively.

"Although inflation expectations show a downward tendency for the coming months, this forecast is not exempt from risks," the bank said.

"Underlying inflation has maintained a rising trend which could be associated with the impact on the production cost structure caused by exchange rate depreciation," it said.

On Wednesday, Mexico's currency peso traded at around 13.68 to the dollar, compared with 9.86 in last August. A weaker peso means that manufacturers and consumers have to pay more for imports, which has a knock-on effect on all prices.

The bank estimated Mexico's economy will contract by 3.8 percent and 4.8 percent this year, and state-insured jobs will be reduced by 350,000 to 450,000 by the end of this year.

The Bank of Mexico on April 17 cut its target interest rate by 0.75 points to 6 percent to contain the economic fallout from the global recession.