Abgeschickt von: Irving am 02 Juni 2000 um 18:49
    16:45 GMT 2 June 2000
    =DJ Gold Soars On Weaker Dollar, Despite Bond, Equity Rally
    By David Bogoslaw and Jamie McGeever


    LONDON (Dow Jones)--Gold rallied sharply Friday as a frantic flurry of short covering was
    sparked by a fall in the dollar after the release of key U.S. employment data, dealers and
    analysts said.

    Although gold is often considered a hedge against inflation, it rallied in the face of reduced
    inflation expectations that also spurred gains in Treasury bond and equities markets.

    At the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange the most active August contract
    was up $6.50 at $281.90 a troy ounce at 1630 GMT (1230 EDT).

    Spot gold in London was trading up nearly $8 at $280.45 a troy ounce, after slipping back from a
    month high of $282.00 hit earlier in the session. A solid break of this key level would send
    prices even higher, market participants predict.

    A moribund gold market exploded into life on the release of weaker-than-expected May jobs
    data, which reversed some recent dollar strength. At 1600 GMT (1200 EDT), the dollar was at
    Y108.10, down from Y108.46 late Thursday in New York, while the euro was at $0.9448, up from
    $0.9317. A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper to consumers in local currency terms.

    This was the catalyst market participants had been looking for to "really start trading again,"