Gold firm on euro strength after Macron wins French elections

[BENGALURU] Gold edged up on Monday on bargain-hunting after dipping to a seven-week low earlier in the session and as the euro strengthened after pro-EU candidate Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential election.

Spot gold rose 0.3 per cent to US$1,230.88 per ounce as of 0401 GMT, after touching 1,224.86 earlier in the session, its lowest since March 17.

US gold futures were also up 0.3 per cent at US$1,230.60 an ounce.

The euro hit a six-month high against the US dollar on Monday after centrist Macron comfortably won the French presidential election, defeating Marine Le Pen, a far-right nationalist who threatened to take France out of the European Union.

"Leading into the election, with many polls predicting Macron's victory, we saw safe-haven buying easing into end of last week. Confirmation that he being victorious has not resulted in any additional selling," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.

Uncertainties on whether Mr Macron's new party can get a parliamentary majority in the June legislative elections and a lack of clarity on his ability to deliver policies provided a little support to the bullion prices.

Gold last week saw its biggest weekly per centage fall since the week ending Nov 11, ending over 3 per cent lower.

"Gold is still pretty much wanted after last week's fall... People are happy to buy around this level," said Yuichi Ikemizu, head of commodity trading at Standard Bank in Tokyo.

Spot gold still targets US$1,209 per ounce, as suggested by a Fibonacci retracement analysis, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Meanwhile, US job growth rebounded sharply in April and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 per cent, near a 10-year low, pointing to a tightening labor market that likely seals the case for an interest rate increase next month despite moderate wage growth.

Higher rates could dent demand for non-interest-paying gold.

Hedge funds and other money managers cut their net long position in Comex gold for the first time in seven weeks, in the week to May 2, while they reduced their bullish stance in silver to the lowest since January, US government data showed Friday.

Spot silver gained 0.8 per cent to US$16.42 an ounce.

Platinum was 0.4 per cent higher at US$914.65, and palladium up about 0.1 per cent at US$812 per ounce.

REUTERS