Gold and Silver Prices Edge Lower

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Bullion update ...U.S. gold prices slid $2.80 lower on Thursday. Investors’ attraction toward more risk was commonly cited for its decline.

Precious metals were mixed as a group. Silver and platinum both fell 0.7 percent while palladium inched 0.5 percent higher.

In other markets, crude oil prices soared for a second session after falling the prior six, while U.S. stocks rose for a third straight day with major indexes advancing between 0.7 percent and 1.2 percent.

New York metals figures follow:

  • Gold for August delivery fell 0.2 percent to $1,196.10 an ounce. The yellow metal ranged from $1,187.30 to $1,208.20.

  • Silver for September delivery lost 12.8 cents to end at $17.872 an ounce. It ranged between $17.725 and $18.200.

  • October platinum declined $10.00 to $1,516.40 an ounce. It ranged from $1,509.20 to $1,538.90.
  • September palladium advanced $2.05 to close at $444.40 an ounce. It ranged between $435.70 and $452.20.

In notable bullion quotes of the day:

 

"We’re seeing real choppy trade recently for a sideways pattern right now," Charles Nedoss, senior market strategist with Olympus Futures in Chicago, was cited on MarketWatch. "The even mark of $1,200 is really a psychological level than anything else, but above $1,200 everyone wants to own it and below it everyone wants to sell."

"As the euro strengthens, more and more of the fear that had driven investors into gold is being alleviated," Adam Klopfenstein, a senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago, was quoted on Bloomberg. "The ‘sell euros, buy gold’ trade is being unwound."

"Following yesterday’s bounce back to the $1200 price zone, gold prices gained in the aftermarket overnight and climbed as high as almost $1209.00 per ounce. However, India’s physical buyers thinned out in numbers as soon as the metal crossed above the psychologically important round figure," noted Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, Inc.

"Thereafter, gold was left to take its cues from the continuing improvement in sentiment regarding the state of the global economy." [Read Nadler’s full morning commentary.]

 

In PM London bullion, the benchmark gold price was fixed earlier in the North American day to $1,193.50 an ounce, rising 25 cents from the price on Wednesday. Silver climbed 35 cents to an even $18.00 an ounce. Platinum settled at $1,528.00 an ounce, rising $16.00. Palladium advanced $8.00 to $447.00 an ounce.

In bullion coin news, for the latest United States Mint weekly coin sales figures — both bullion and numismatic — visit sister site CoinCollectingNews.org and read US Mint Sales: America the Beautiful Quarters, Silver Coins.

Oil and gasoline prices

Crude oil prices climbed "nearly 2% Thursday as positive sentiment about the global recovery dominated and an inventories report included a surprisingly large decrease in crude stockpiles," Claudia Assis of MarketWatch.

 

"A big drop in inventories and rising demand are a bullish combination," Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts, was quoted on Bloomberg.

 

New York crude oil for August delivery advanced $1.37, or 1.9 percent, to close at $75.44 a barrel.

The national average for regular unleaded gasoline fell four-tenths of a cent to $2.717 a gallon, according to AAA fuel data. The current average is 3.7 cents lower than last week, one-tenth of a cent down from a month back, but 12.4 cents higher than the average from a year ago.

U.S. Stocks

U.S. stocks rose as the "Dow rallied Thursday, leading the broader market higher" and as "investors welcomed a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims and a rise in the euro," wrote Alexandra Twin of CNNMoney.com.

 

"Initial jobless claims are arguably the best real-time data on the economy, the most closely watched, and seeing those come in was pretty encouraging," Eric Mintz, who helps manage $3 billion at Eagle Asset Management in St. Petersburg, Florida, was quoted on Bloomberg. "We’ve got a strong continuation from yesterday’s rally."

 

The Dow Jones industrial average added 120.71 points, or 1.20 percent, to 10,138.99. The S&P 500 Index advanced 9.98 points, or 0.94 percent, to 1,070.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 15.93 points, or 0.74 percent, at 2,175.40.

Gold, Silver, and Metals: Prices and Commentary – July 8, 2010

by Jon Nadler, Kitco Metals Inc.

It’s Acronym Day, Again: ECB, BoE, IMF, BIS

Good Morning,

Following yesterday’s bounce back to the $1200 price zone, gold prices gained in the aftermarket overnight and climbed as high as almost $1209.00 per ounce. However, India’s physical buyers thinned out in numbers as soon as the metal crossed above the psychologically important round figure.

Thereafter, gold was left to take its cues from the continuing improvement in sentiment regarding the state of the global economy. Credit Agricole analyst Robin Bhar opined that the yellow metal might still however be near the top of its range and that the there is little to be found of the "fear factor anymore, the end of the world, Armageddon, to really drive gold significantly higher."

Optimistic observations regarding the global economic recovery coming from the IMF helped bolster confidence on Wednesday. To wit, the Dow gained 274 points in one of the largest rallies in recent weeks. Copper prices were set for a fifth day of advances on the back of the IMF analyses. The IMF found that the global economy is recovering at a speedier pace than anticipated and that the threat of a "W" event has become "very unlikely."

The organization sees the US economy expanding at a 3.3% pace this year, albeit it envisions only a 1 percent growth rate for Germany and the eurozone. Chinese economic growth is seen near 10.5% and Japan’s at 2.4% while that of India could reach up to 9.4% in the current year. The IMF forecasts are not quite as strong for 2011 however they do not factor in the dreaded double-dip under any circumstances. World GDP is expected to grow at 4.6% this year, despite the sturm und drang of sovereign credit conditions.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated European bank stress tests have met with mixed reaction in the markets and have yet to inspire higher levels of confidence among players. The 91 institutions that will be subjected to the test are the region’s largest; however it is the modeling inherent in the simulations that has come under fire by critics who feel the criteria are too mild. Most of the polled analysts feel that all of the banks involved will receive a passing grade when the ‘possible credit loss treadmill’ results are published later this month.

In the interim, the ECB left interest rates unchanged (at 1%) and the markets awaited a press conference by the institution’s leader, Mr. Trichet. The BoE also left well enough alone and stood pat on rates today.

Here, in a Telegraph-sourced candid camera shot, he is seen peering through the currently thick fog of uncertainty into the future – the future of the euro, the region’s banks, his now delayed ‘exit’ strategy implementation, and other similar nagging issues. Or, perhaps, Mr. Trichet was reading the fine print in a BIS report which found that banks (in Europe and in the US) remain in a delicate situation and that their loan losses could still mount in coming months. The ‘zombie bank’ syndrome last seen in Japan, in other words.

The BIS, on the other hand, in a separate report, wasted no time in calling for immediate and aggressive monetary and fiscal tightening –recovery concerns be damned. The bank feels that ultra-low interest rates are doing nasty thing to the world’s money markets.

The euro remained firm, near $1.265 following the rate announcement. Mr. Trichet on the other hand, remained on the lookout for things unknown (and probably unknowable). For the moment, he faces higher interest rates –of another variety– as seen in interbank borrowing costs which have been climbing ever since July rolled around.

Metals markets opened under some renewed selling pressure this morning, as participants exhibited uncertainty over yesterday’s recovery attempts. Spot gold started off just under the $1200 mark, at $1198.90 basis the bid, with a $4.30 per ounce loss. Silver fell two pennies to open at $18.04 and palladium dropped $1 to start at $446.00 the ounce. While rhodium was unchanged at $2400.00 platinum managed a $1 gain opening at $1526.00 per troy ounce. The fourth largest primary platinum producer –Aquarius Platinum-halted production at one of its shafts in South Africa following an accident that took the lives of five of its miners.

In the background, the US dollar was steady at just under 84 on the trade-weighted index while crude oil gained more than half a dollar to rise to the $74.73 level in the wake of the forward-and-upward-looking IMF forecast for the global economy. Initial jobless claims data revealed a 21,000 claims decline (down to 454,000) in the latest tally. Initial market reaction was: dollar down, gold down, Treasurys down, Dow futures higher.

Something else down: US Mint American Eagle gold coin sales. They were off by 19,000 units in the month of June vis a vis the same month of 2009. On the other hand, sales of its Silver Eagle coins rose by 756,000 units on the month versus levels a year ago. Take your pick as to whether the stats imply crisis abatement or a too lofty gold price making ‘poor man’s gold’ shine somewhat brighter…

Market dictionary word of the day (for yet another day): Swaps. As in BIS gold swaps. The release of the information about commercial (or was it central?) banks handing over tonnes (382 of them at last count) of gold to the BIS in exchange for (evidently) more desirable (gasp!) paper dollars has the bulls and the bears out in full force, trying to spin the news in their favorite direction.

Mineweb offers a roundup of most of the ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ surrounding the issue. The one finding that should be the take-home lesson from the brilliant Rhona O’Connell-penned Mineweb piece is the one that is applicable to both the bulls and the bears who are attempting to ‘steer’ this news as positive or negative. It goes: "if the system fails completely it won’t matter who’s got what as no one will be able to trade." Spot-on, Rhona. Then again, there’s always lead to ‘trade’ at such a juncture…

Happy Trading.

Jon Nadler
Senior Analyst

Kitco Metals Inc.
North America 

Websites: www.kitco.com and www.kitco.cn
Blog: http://www.kitco.com/ind/index.html#nadler
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