Gold drops on US Govt. shutdown uncertainty, low demand

Friday, 4 October 2013 02:12 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Gold fell on Thursday, as investors booked profits after the previous session’s gains due to uncertainty about a partial US Government shutdown and slow demand in key physical markets. The metal rose 2.2% on Wednesday, posting the biggest daily gain in two weeks, as the dollar fell to an eight-month low and the shutdown showed no end in sight.Failure to increase the debt limit would push the world’s biggest economy into default and shake markets, already on the edge over the outlook for US stimulus. “There is some profit-taking and volumes are low as investors are not certain of the US political deadlock,” VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said. “17 October is the deadline for the US debt ceiling talks, and as far as gold is concerned, I think there isn’t enough conviction in the market for the safe-haven appeal to really materialise.”