Sunday, October 9, 2011

Spot Gold Up 0.5%; Europe in Spotlight


By: Reuters With AP
Spot gold rose half a percent on Monday, rebounding from the previous session's decline triggered by the credit downgrades of Italy and Spain, as investors continue to watch the debt crisis unfold in the euro zone. 
     
altrendo images | Getty Images
Spot gold [XAU=  1650.09    12.57  (+0.77%)   ]gained nearly half a percent to $1,645.49 an ounce by 0011 GMT, after rising about 0.9 percent in the previous week.
U.S. gold [GCCV1  1653.00    17.20  (+1.05%)   ]rose 0.7 percent to $1,647.70.
The credit downgrades of Italy and Spain triggered a sell-off in gold in Friday's session, as investors scrambled to cover losses in equities.
The leaders of Germany and France have promised to unveil new steps to solve the euro zone's debt crisis by the end of the month, as pressure builds for bold steps from Europe to avert a global economic backlash.

U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in September and job gains for the prior two months were revised higher, easing recession fears.
Investors are eyeing this week's data, including minutes of the Federal Reserve's Sept. 20-21 meeting; weekly filings for jobless benefits; and retail sales and consumer confidence numbers for September.
Money managers, including hedge funds and other large speculators, scaled back bullish bets in gold futures and options for the eighth time in nine weeks, as bullion deepened its correction from its record set early September.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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Technical 10 0ct afternoon


GOLD (Spot) intraday: the bias remains bullish.

Pivot: 1620.00
Our Preference: LONG positions above 1620 with 1680 & 1700 as next targets.
Alternative scenario: The downside penetration of 1620 will call for 1600 & 1555.
Comment: supported by a rising trend line.
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Friday, September 30, 2011

Gold Settles Up at $1,622, Set for Third-Quarter Gain

By: Reuters

Gold rose Friday on lingering worries of a global economic slowdown, and the price of bullion notched its biggest quarterly gain of this year even after a sharp pullback from a record hit this month.
Gold
Jose Luis Pelaez | Iconica | Getty Images
Gold posted a quarterly gain of 8 percent—its biggest this year, despite a drop of 11 percent for September—its largely monthly decline in three years.
For the day, gold finished higher as safe-haven buying resumed despite a rising dollar. Equities and industrial commodities fell after data showed manufacturing in China contracted for a third consecutive month in September.
"I think the correction [cnbc explains] has run its course. For the first time in quite some time, we actually bought some gold and platinum exchange-traded funds [cnbc explains] today," said James Dailey, portfolio manager of the TEAM Financial Asset Management.
Spot gold [XAU=  1622.95    -0.30  (-0.02%)   ] was up 0.5 percent at $1,623.10 an ounce.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery [GCCV1  1622.30    5.00  (+0.31%)   ]settled up 30 cents at $1,622.30 an ounce, with trading volume sharply below this week's average as some bullion traders were away for the Jewish New Year holiday.

Gold, which fell this month during a broad sell-off of riskier assets as investors worried about euro zone debt [cnbc explains] and a sluggish U.S. economy, remained 15 percent below its record of $1,920.30 an ounce set Sept. 6.
Trade has been extremely volatile this month. The wide $400 trading range after the record on Sept. 6 has kept investors wary even as the correction from that high has lifted physical demand.
"In markets that have been shaken as badly as gold market has been shaken, it will take days, perhaps even weeks, before the bullish trend clearly reasserts itself, but we do believe that the margin clerk liquidation has probably run its course," said independent investor Dennis Gartman.
In the last two weeks, gold had one of its steepest corrections in history, weighed down by a sharp margin increase, the fourth hike this year and heavy liquidation by hedge funds [cnbc explains] in a technically overbought market.

Open interest in COMEXgold futures[cnbc explains] fell to a two-year low on Thursday, indicating liquidation by momentum traders and speculators.
COMEX gold open interest, a gauge of overall investor sentiment, fell by more than 5 million ounces or over $8 billion at current prices in the past nine sessions.
ETF Investors Hold Firm
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's biggest gold-backed exchange fund, dipped by 10 tonnes, but were almost unchanged month-on-month despite the fluctuations in gold prices.
Demand for physical gold kept supporting the market, with the advent of the Indian festival season helping drive buying in the world's biggest gold consumer.
In the official sector, central banks added to gold reserves in August, with Thailand buying 9.3 tons last month, Russia adding 5.6 tons and Bolivia buying 7 tons of gold, International Monetary Fund data showed.
Silver [XAG=  29.90    0.01  (+0.03%)   ] was down 2.4 percent at $29.83 an ounce. Holdings of the largest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust [SLV  28.91    -1.05  (-3.5%)   ], fell nearly 23 tons on Thursday.
Silver prices have also seen extreme volatility this month, in line with gold, and are set to end the month 27 percent lower, and the quarter down 13 percent.
Spot platinum [XPT=  1520.20    2.25  (+0.15%)   ] was down 0.1 percent at $1,515.74 an ounce, while spot palladium [XPD=  609.78    4.40  (+0.73%)   ] was down 1.7 percent at $605.13 an ounce.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Gold Holds Gains; Heads for Worst Month Since 2008


By: Reuters
Gold ticked up on Friday, having gained in the previous session on German approval of a stronger bailout fund to counter the euro zone debt crisis, but the metal was heading for its worst monthly decline in three years. 
Gold
Jose Luis Pelaez | Iconica | Getty Images
Spot gold [XAU=  1626.6899    12.64  (+0.78%)   ]added $7.79 an ounce to $1,621.84 an ounce by 0043 GMT. Despite the gain, prices were headed for of 11 percent, their worst since October 2008 when they tumbled 17 percent following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Gold rallied to a lifetime high around $1,920 an ounce in early September. 
U.S. gold [GCCV1=  Unavailable      ()   ] rose $7.2 an ounce to $1,624.50 an ounce. 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel won a vote on enhancing the euro zone's bailout fund without needing to rely on the opposition, a senior member of Merkel's CDU party said on Thursday.
The euro clung to modest gains in Asia on Friday, following a brief boost after Germany approved an expansion of the euro zone bailout fund, but investors remain worried due to the many hurdles ahead of a workable resolution to the European crisis.

The Nikkei share average was flat on Friday, wavering in and out of positive territory in the first minutes of trading as investors took profits after a late surge in the previous session, and was on track to gain for the week.
U.S. crude futures extended gains on Friday, as the German vote to beef up the euro zone rescue fund and upbeat U.S. economic data eased market worries over a slowing global economy.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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Gold Falls 1% on Rising Dollar, Growth Fears

By: Reuters

Gold extended losses and dropped more than 1 percent on Thursday as investors turned to the safety of the U.S. dollar on uncertainty about a resolution of Europe's debt crisis that has stirred up fears for global growth. 
    
Don Farrall | Getty Images
Stocks fell in Asia, copper futures dropped more than 5 percent and oil slid more than $1 on mounting worries that Europe's debt problems will plunge the world economy into a second financial tailspin. 
   
Spot gold [XAU=  1617.10    9.20  (+0.57%)   ] lost $3.55 an ounce to $1,604.35 by 0221 GMT, having fallen to a low around $1,582. It had plunged to a two-month low of $1,534.49 on Monday -- down from a lifetime high around $1,920 an ounce struck in early September.   
   
"The dollar is likely to strengthen on a broad scale, at least short-term. That's definitely going to be weighing on performance. Closer to the 200-day daily moving average, we should find the bottom and I think that's still there," said Dominic Schnider, an analyst at UBS Wealth Management. 
   
"But I am confident that with lower prices, you are going to see very strong jewelry offtake, especially as we head towards Diwali on October 26," said Schnider, referring to the Hindu festival of lights in main gold consumer India. 
  
U.S. gold futures [GCCV1  1616.90    -1.20  (-0.07%)   ] fell $9.4 to $1,608.7 an ounce.
   
The uncertainties about global economic growth, mainly   sparked by the lack of consensus on a lasting solution to the   euro zone debt crisis, have driven gold prices to record highs since July.   
   
But declines in other markets prompted speculators to cash in to cover losses, and investors were spooked by a revolt within the government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of a vote to expand Europe's bailout fund on Thursday.
The euro was under modest pressure in Asia on Thursday on profit taking and squaring of positions following a large three-day rally, with investors still worried about the European debt [cnbc explains] crisis ahead of the vote in Germany.
   
Lower gold prices stirred up buying in Asia, sending premiums for gold bars to their strongest since at least February in Singapore and Hong Kong. In India, the premiums jumped to their highest in a year.

   
Traditionally in India, retail gold demand gains pace from the month of August when the festival and wedding seasons start, culminating with the Diwali.   
  
Gold jewelry is an essential part of the dowry basket that Indian parents give their daughters at weddings. 
   
"Physical demand is still there. Everyone in Asia is buying. Everybody is buying gold and they want delivery," said a physical dealer in Singapore. 
   
"We have stocks of gold bars, but it's not enough to satisfy demand," said the dealer, adding that buyers came from India, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. 
   
Gold's steep correction, however, has not yet unnerved investors in the No. 1 gold exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust.  
   
Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust [GLD  156.22    -4.41  (-2.75%)   ], and that of the largest silver-backed ETF, New York's iShares Silver Trust [SLV  28.87    -2.30  (-7.38%)   ] remained unchanged on Wednesday from Tuesday.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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