by Luzi-Ann Javier
Bloomberg.com
For investors skeptical that gold’s rally will persist after the best start to a year since 2006, one indicator may help ease their concerns. Open interest, a tally of outstanding contracts in Comex futures, rose to the highest in five years on Monday, showing traders are expecting further increases, according to George Gero, a managing director at RBC Wealth Management in New York. Bullion is gaining more appeal against interest-bearing assets after lending rates fell below zero in Europe and Japan and the Federal Reserve signaled a slow pace of monetary tightening.