By Glenys Sim
May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The ratio of gold to silver jumped to a two-month high on concern the Greek debt crisis may spread to other European countries, undermining the global recovery.
An ounce of gold bought 66.19 ounces of silver by 11:36 a.m. in Singapore, the highest amount since March 3, according to Bloomberg calculations. Silver outperformed gold this year through May 3, gaining 11 percent compared with the yellow metal’s 7.7 percent advance, on optimism demand for industrial metals will improve as the global economy rebounds.
Gold tends to rise when currencies and stock markets decline as investors seek to preserve their wealth. Gold for immediate delivery is now up 6.5 percent, while silver has pared gains this year to 4.6 percent.
“All metals that have industrial uses should fall more than gold when people are worried about the economy,” Wallace Ng, the executive director of commodity derivatives at Fortis Nederland NV in Hong Kong. Silver is used in electronics and photography.
European governments are hoping the European Union and International Monetary Fund’s 110 billion-euro ($143 billion) bailout for Greece will stop a crisis that Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says threatens the currency’s survival. Investors are speculating that Spain and Portugal may also eventually need assistance. The euro fell below $1.30 yesterday for the first time since April 2009.
Ratio to Rise
In China, a survey showed Chinese manufacturing expanded at the slowest pace in six months in April, a sign that the government’s efforts to prevent the economy overheating may be taking effect. Two days earlier, the People’s Bank of China said it will raise bank reserve requirements for the third time this year as part of measures to rein in lending.
“The ratio will continue to go up as long as uncertainties exist in the market and people buy gold and sell everything else,” said Yang Zhenqiang, an analyst at First Futures Brokerage Co. “We’ll see some corrections along the way but I think $1,200 is a reasonable near-term target for gold.”
Gold dropped for a second day, losing 0.3 percent to $1,167.72 an ounce, while silver declined 1.1 percent to $17.6625 an ounce, extending yesterday’s 5 percent slump.
*The crisis in Greece is a classic example of currency failure.
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