Knocking on the legislative door for the eighth consecutive year is a new bill seeking to treat coins or bars composed of silver, gold, platinum and palladium in the "same manner as equities and mutual funds for purposes of the maximum capital gains rate for individuals."

Gains from the sale of collectibles held for more than one year are taxed at a rate of 28 percent. (Collectibles include coins, stamps, coins, antiques, art, and gems.) The level is significantly higher than the maximum 15 percent capital gains rate for other long-term investments, like stock and bond holdings.

The bill, named the Fair Treatment for Precious Metals Investors Act, S. 1367, was introduced by Sen. Michael Crapo [R-ID], who also Read the rest of this entry »

Across the board market declines painted an ugly picture this week. London silver, gold and platinum prices plunged 14.2 percent, 5.5 percent, and 13.4 percent, respectively. The blue-chip average ended down 7.4 percent, the S&P fell 9.4 percent and the Nasdaq lost 10.8 percent. Crude fell more than 12 percent.

The U.S. $700 billion bailout plan passed and was signed into law Friday. Is that good news for financial markets or precious metals? It depends on your take. To the numbers…

November crude-oil on Nymex lost 9 cents Friday, and settled to $93.88 per barrel.

London silver plunged to end at $11.20 an ounce — a lost of $1.86 on the week, or $1.98 from last Friday.

London gold fell to $828 an ounce, falling $49 for the week and $74 from last Friday.

London platinum lost to $959 an ounce — a loss of $148 for the week, or $181 from last Friday.

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As stocks ended slightly lower Wednesday and the markets anxiously awaited the Senate’s vote on its proposed financial rescue plan, New York precious metals moved into positive territory. Nymex silver, gold and platinum futures gained 4 percent, 0.7 percent, and 1.4 percent, respectively.

November crude oil dropped $1.78, or 1.8 percent, to $98.89 per barrel. It reached as low as $95.95 in intraday trading.

December silver climbed 49 cents to close to $12.77 an ounce.

October platinum rose $14.60 to end at $1,029.70 an ounce.

December gold gained $6.50 to settle at $887.30 an ounce.

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New York precious metals retreated Tuesday as stocks rallied and the U.S. dollar surged amid hopes the passage of a financial rescue plan is still possible from Capital Hill. Nymex silver, gold and platinum futures lost, 5.8 percent, 1.5 percent, and 5.6 percent, respectively.

November crude-oil recovered from Monday’s more than $10 loss to settle to $100.64 per barrel, gaining $4.27, or 4.4 percent. Its lowest point for the day was $97.80.

December silver staggered down 75 cents to close to $12.28 an ounce.

October platinum plunged $59.90 to end at $1,015.10 an ounce.

December gold lost $13.60 to settle at $880.80 an ounce.

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Gold gained about 20 percent since Sept. 11 as safe-haven demand drove physical demand to such a level that the U.S. Mint suspended Buffalo gold coin sales Thursday due to depleted inventories.

Gold profit-taking snatched several percentage point gains on Friday, but the yellow metal ended the day and week up. London gold and silver prices rose 1.5 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. Platinum dropped 4.4 percent.

November crude-oil on Nymex lost $1.13 Friday, and settled to $106.89 per barrel. It lost 4 percent for the week.

London silver closed to $13.18 an ounce — a gain of 20 cents on the week, or $1.03 from last Friday.

London platinum fell to $1,140 an ounce — a loss of $53 for the week, or $15 from last Friday.

London gold climbed to $902 an ounce, rising $29 for the week and $33 from last Friday.

"The indecision and infighting on Capitol Hill continued to keep a frozen lid over investors and traders alike. No one was willing to do a whole lot today, and for good reason; the potential outcomes from a concrete decision by US lawmakers on the rescue package are either quite wide-ranging, or unknown for now," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers on Friday.

James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk, said, “We could see further inflows of investment demand in the coming sessions, potentially giving gold the momentum to challenge overhead resistance at $925-$938.”

Gold generally follows oil and moves opposite to the greenback, as a weakened dollar encourages investors to buy gold, also considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty.

Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and four related precious metal articles.

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New York gold prices inched slightly higher Wednesday, as the markets watched the financial debate and waited for any Washington movement on the U.S. $700 billion bailout plan. Silver, gold and platinum futures rose, 2.1 percent, 0.4 percent, and 1.2 percent, respectively.

November crude-oil lost 88 cents to settle at $105.73 per barrel. The U.S. Energy Department reported declines in crude, and gasoline supplies for last week, but also reported weaker demands.

December silver climbed 27 cents to close to $13.44 an ounce.

October platinum gained $13 to end at $1,225 an ounce.

December gold moved up $3.80 to settle at $895 an ounce. During the day, it hit a low of $890.40 and a high of $907.80.

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Gold and silver enjoyed sharp gains in a week where markets were up and down over concern for worsening financial conditions. Within a 48-hour span, gold rose and fell by the largest amount in 28 years. In the end, London gold and silver posted weekly gains of 11.5 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively. Platinum dropped 3.8 percent.

October crude-oil on Nymex closed at $104.55 per barrel, gaining 3.3 percent for the week.

London silver closed up to $12.15 an ounce — a gain of $1.31 on the week, or $1.35 from last Friday.

London platinum fell to $1,155 an ounce — a loss of $45 for the week, or $32 from last Friday.

London gold declined to $869 an ounce, falling $90 for the week and $119 from last Friday.

"A new era began today. There is hardly any other way to describe the possible outcome of the measures which the US an other authorities took in order to deploy the parachutes designed to stop this week’s freefall in global confidence and markets," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers.

"Those who are brave enough to declare that ‘This is IT’ or express confidence that gold/the dollar/stocks/housing/etc. will now follow a clear path this way, or that, will very likely live to eat their initial prognostications with a ladle full or yummy crow. Within days. Thus, we say, ‘wait and see’," he added.

Gold generally follows oil and moves opposite to the greenback, as a weakened dollar encourages investors to buy gold, also considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty.

Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and three related precious metal articles.

Read the rest of this entry »

New York precious metals pushed ahead Thursday with a second day of sharp gains. Futures in silver, gold and platinum were up 9 percent, 4.7 percent, and 5.5 percent, respectively. Continual concern over the global financial sector and its uncertainly lured investors toward traditional safe-haven gold, but the ride was a roller-coaster with sharp ups and downs.

October crude-oil improved 72 cents to end the day at $97.88 per barrel.

December silver marked another banner day with a jump of $1.02 to close to $12.70 an ounce.

October platinum gained $51.30 to close to $1,137.60 an ounce.

December gold gained $46.50 to close to $897 an ounce. Earlier in the day, the contract had reached a high of $926.

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New York precious metals declined Tuesday with platinum plunging 9.2 percent, gold dropping 0.8 percent, silver declining 5.6 percent, and October crude-oil free-falling by $4.56 to $91.15 per barrel.

December silver ended at $10.52 an ounce.

October platinum was hit hard with its close of $1,068.50 an ounce. Weakening car sales in Europe, China and the US was cited as a catalyst.

December gold fell $6.50 to close to $780.50 an ounce.

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Gold snapped its longest losing streak in 8 years Friday to climb with other precious metals. The upward moves helped recover metal losses for the week where London silver, gold and platinum plunged 12.8 percent, 7 percent and 13 percent, respectively. The Dow gained 1.8 percent and the Nasdaq 0.2 percent.

October crude-oil on Nymex briefly touched $99.99 Friday, but rose slightly by 31 cents to close to $101.18 per barrel with concerns over Hurricane Ike.

London silver closed down to $10.80 an ounce — a loss of $1.58 on the week, or $1.92 from last Friday.

London platinum fell to $1,187 an ounce — a drop of $178 for the week, or $200 from last Friday.

London gold declined to $750 an ounce, falling $56 for the week and $59 from last Friday.

"Bullion’s gains today came primarily from a slew of background financial news on Lehman and WaMu’s woes which unsettled the money markets enough to have the US dollar drop," said senior analyst Jon Nadler at Kitco Bullion Dealers.

"Next week promises to be quite dollar-centric as we might learn Lehman’s fate and continue the house-cleaning process that is now at least a year-old. It will also be time to tally Ike’s damage and project where US energy supplies will be heading before fall sets in," he added.

Gold generally follows oil and moves opposite to the greenback, as a weakened dollar encourages investors to buy gold, also considered a hedge during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty.

Silver, gold and platinum performance charts and tables follow as well as a Reuters weekly business recap video and three related precious metal articles.

Read the rest of this entry »