Bullish Gold Bets Rebound as Mideast Tensions Mount
Source: Bloomberg, Pham-Duy Nguyen (2/28/11)
"Hedge funds boosted their bullish bets on gold to the highest since December."
Hedge funds boosted their bullish bets on gold to the highest since December, when the precious metal was headed to a record price, as tensions in the Middle East spurred investor demand for a haven.
Managed-money funds held net-long positions, or wagers on rising prices, totaling 182,739 futures and options contracts on the Comex as of Feb. 22, up 14% from a week earlier, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed last week. Holdings rose for a third straight week and are the highest since Dec. 7, the day gold reached a record $1,432.50 an ounce.
The price has rallied for five straight weeks as pro-democracy uprisings spread from the Middle East to North Africa. Gold is rebounding after a plunge in January that was the biggest in more than a year. Before then, the precious metal had rallied every year for the past decade.
Managed-money funds held net-long positions, or wagers on rising prices, totaling 182,739 futures and options contracts on the Comex as of Feb. 22, up 14% from a week earlier, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed last week. Holdings rose for a third straight week and are the highest since Dec. 7, the day gold reached a record $1,432.50 an ounce.
The price has rallied for five straight weeks as pro-democracy uprisings spread from the Middle East to North Africa. Gold is rebounding after a plunge in January that was the biggest in more than a year. Before then, the precious metal had rallied every year for the past decade.