By Glenys Sim
April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Gold gained as a rally in global stocks halted and on investor expectations for inflationary pressures to rebound on government stimulus spending, boosting demand for the precious metal as a store of value.
Equities retreated after U.S. retail sales decreased 1.1 percent last month, while prices paid to U.S. producers decreased in March after two months of gains. Gold has dropped 3.4 percent in the past month while the benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which fell for the first time in five days today, climbed 16 percent.
“Despite the weight of deflationary data in recent weeks, concerns that quantitative easing and rising fiscal deficits will stoke inflationary pressures remain an important source of support for gold,” James Steel, an analyst at HSBC Securities, wrote in an e-mailed note.
Gold for immediate delivery gained 0.2 percent to $892.42 an ounce at 9:38 a.m. Singapore time. The metal fell yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said there are signs that the “sharp decline” in the economy may be easing, and President Barack Obama said the stimulus package is beginning to “generate economic progress.”
Investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund back by bullion, stood unchanged for a second day at 1,127.68 metric tons yesterday.
Governments are spending trillions of dollars to spur growth in the U.S., Europe, Japan and China. Japan has pledged 15.4 trillion yen ($153 billion), while China has put in place a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus plan.
“Investors’ perception of future inflation levels will continue to influence gold prices,” said Steel.
Among other precious metals for immediate delivery, silver fell 0.2 percent to $12.74 an ounce, platinum gained 0.8 percent to $1,219.50 an ounce, and palladium climbed 1.5 percent to $236.25 an ounce at 8:32 a.m. in Singapore.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net
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