Gold bucks trend, rally continues

Gold rallied a second day at the start of a month that’s been the strongest for the metal in recent years. Bullion rose on Tuesday as Middle East tensions and a sell-off in global stock markets spurred haven demand.

Gold for immediate delivery headed for its first back-to-back gain in two weeks, climbing 1.6% so far in January to $1,078.28 an ounce in London. The metal was helped by declines in world equities and tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Bullion has advanced 4.4% on an average in January over the past 10 years, climbing in all but three cases. Its performance in the first month beat that in any other. January is a time when Chinese stock up on gold in anticipation of Lunar New Year.


“January has been a good month for gold, with rallies in both 2014 and 2015,” David Govett, head of precious metals at Marex Spectron Group in London, said. “Given that the market is short, coupled with the situation between Saudi Arabia and Iran and weak stock markets, this is as good chance as any for gold to complete the hat trick” by advancing this month, he said.