Post Reply
2081-2100 of 4402
Gold off 4-1/2 month low, tracks euro
SINGAPORE, May 17 (Reuters) - Gold rose half a percent on Thursday as bargain hunters resurfaced after prices tumbled to another 4-1/2 month low in the previous season, but gains could be limited by fears of a deepening debt crisis in Greece, even as the euro rebounded.
Bullion has this year been moving in tandem with assets that are perceived to be risky, shedding its status as a safe haven in times of economic instability.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold added $7.64 an ounce to $1,545.94 an ounce by 0046 GMT after falling as low as $1,527 on Wednesday, its weakest since Dec. 29.
* U.S. gold futures for June delivery rose $9.30 an ounce to $1,545.90.
* The European Central Bank has stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks as they have not been successfully recapitalised, the ECB said on Wednesday, confirming earlier exclusive reports by Reuters.
* Indian gold futures hit their lowest level in six weeks, extending losses for the third straight session on Wednesday, attracting bargain hunting by physical traders, though the rupee hitting a record low capped the downside.
MARKET NEWS
* Shares steadied in Asia on Thursday, but investors found no reason to bet on risk amid deepening turmoil in Greece and fears of contagion to other stressed euro zone economies. The euro was steady around $1.2730, off a four-month low of $1.26811 reached on Wednesday. [MKTS/GLOB[
* U.S. crude prices steadied near $92 a barrel on Thursday as concerns over a Greek exit from the euro zone offset support from U.S. government data showing a smaller rise in crude stocks than an industry report earlier this week.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0430 Japan Industrial output rev Mar
0700 Spain Q1 GDP
1230 U.S. Jobless claims Weekly
1230 U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner speaks
1400 U.S. Leading indicators April
1400 U.S. Philadelphia Fed business activity index
Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 5/16/2012
By Timothy OakesMay 16, 2012FED REMAINS OPEN TO EASING GREEK BANKING COLLAPSE POSSIBLE
Precious Metals prices are down on technical selling, and stock markets also are down, as fears of a Greek exit from the euro increase. Those fears are so pronounced that in certain circles it has been given the moniker “Grexit.” Those fears have investors shifting their assets into the United States dollar. Robin Bahr said, “Clearly, with people staring into the abyss, it could (fall) $50 or even $100 lower as it washes out. That is the unpredictability of it all, and as equities fall, as the Greeks take money out of the banks and the banking sector collapses, I suppose you’d have to be wary of further price falls just to cover for losses in other markets.”
The minutes for April’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting were released to the public this afternoon, showing the hope of quantitative easing is not overly diminished. Quantitative easing has been good news for Gold in the past. Stagnation or declines in economic data would be a clear indicator for a number of policy-makers that further easing is needed. The FOMC policy-makers basically “indicated that additional monetary policy accommodation could be necessary if the economic recovery lost momentum or the downside risks to the forecast became great enough,” according to the minutes. A couple of risk indicators are Europe’s debt crisis and failure of American lawmakers to agree on a budget. Roberto Perli said, “It is easy to see how downside risks to the forecasts could become large because you have Europe, which could hit in the near term, and you have a U.S. fiscal cliff as we approach the end of the year.”
The Greek banking sector continues to feel the economic pinch as the European Central Bank has stopped doing business with some banks it suspects are insolvent. The news fanned the flames of worry that Greece will have to leave the eurozone. The news helped push the euro lower. Greek citizens are pulling their money out of banks, as well. The ECB only does business with solvent banks. According to an unidentified source, “As recapitalization wasn’t in place, the ECB stopped monetary policy operations. … Once the recapitalization process is finalized, and we expect this to be finalized soon, the banks will regain access to standard Eurosystem refinancing operations. The ECB/Eurosystem (of eurozone central banks) continues to support Greek banks.”
At 5:15 p.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1,541.90 – Down $16.70.
- Silver - $27.33 – Down $0.83.
Gold Has Plenty of Room Below December Low
Weekly Bars
Prepared by Jamie Saettele, CMT
Gold has broken below a major trendline (and channel) that extends off of lows in 2008, 2010, and 2011. Focus is now on the December low at 1522.50 and then support from May 2011 and resistance from December 2010 at 1430/60. Look lower against the Monday high of 1586.
LEVELS: 1612 1586 1522.50 1477 1462 1448 1431
Gold falls as Greece batters global markets
* Gold eases as dollar profits from Greek worries
* Silver set for longest string of declines since 2008
* Coming up: U.S. April industrial production 1315 GMT
LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Gold fell for a fourth straight day to its lowest since late December on Wednesday, sucked into a broad-based sell-off that dented global markets on the back of alarm over political turmoil in Greece.
Gold dropped along with other more industrial commodities such as copper and crude oil, under pressure from the rise of the dollar, which put silver on track for its longest stretch of consecutive daily losses in nearly four years.
Fears a Greek exit from the euro zone would worsen the European debt crisis gripped financial markets on Wednesday, sending shares and other riskier assets lower as investors shifted funds into safe havens like the U.S. dollar.
The euro touched four-month lows against the dollar, Spanish and Italian bond yields soared, while European equities hit their lowest level for the year.
Spot gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,538.81 an ounce by 1200 GMT, having dropped by nearly 4.0 percent in the last four days. The price was set for its longest stretch of consecutive losses in nearly five months.
" It's difficult to see a turnaround just yet. There will be one, but I don't think this is the time, just when we are in the eye of the storm," Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said.
" Clearly, with people staring into the abyss, it could (fall) $50 or even $100 lower as it washes out. That is the unpredictability of it all and as equities fall, as the Greeks take money out of the banks and the banking sector collapses, I suppose you'd have to be wary of further price falls just to cover for losses in other markets," he said.
Gold tends to trade inversely to the dollar, so that strength in the U.S. unit encourages non-U.S. investors to sell their gold in exchange for greater profits in their own currencies.
Undermining investor sentiment, Greece's president spoke of " fear that could develop into panic" at the country's banks in the weeks before fresh elections that could precipitate Athens' exit from the euro zone, while evidence emerged of locals pulling their euro funds out of banks for fear of their country's exit from the currency bloc.
BIG BULLS HOLD
In a small positive for gold, billionaire fund manager John Paulson held on to his stake in the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, in the first quarter of this year, according to a regulatory filing by his company released on Tuesday.
The prospect of improvement in physical demand for gold from the Indian jewellery sector took a knock on Wednesday with the drop in the rupee to a record low against the dollar, driven by the widespread risk aversion rattling global markets.
Buying in India, the world's largest bullion consumer, has emerged with the decline in the dollar-denominated gold price to 4-1/2 month lows this week, but local dealers have said the weakness in the rupee could curb this.
" Definitely physical buying has gone up, although demand is not overwhelming. Indonesia has slowed down because there's a public holiday tomorrow, while Thailand is buying," said a dealer in Singapore.
" India did buy gold last night. They are not really in the market yet today, but I am sure they will be buying."
The wedding season is underway in India and will taper off by the end of the month. Gold jewellery is an essential part of the dowry Indian parents give to their daughters at weddings.
In other precious metals, silver was down nearly 0.9 percent on the day at $27.45 an ounce, having fallen for eight days in a row, its longest losing streak since a 10-day decline that began in late August 2008, just before the global financial crisis claimed some of Wall Street's biggest banks.
Silver has lost nearly 11.5 percent in this time, compared with a 6-percent decline in the gold price over the same number of days.
This has left the gold/silver ratio -- the number of ounces of silver needed to buy one ounce of gold -- at 56.07, its highest since the start of the year. The higher the ratio, the greater the outperformance of gold relative to silver.
Morning Gold & Silver Market Report – 5/16/2012
By Ryan SchwimmerMay 16, 2012GOLD PRICE AWAITS FED ACTION GOLDMAN SACHS PREDICTS RISE
Precious Metals have extended their price decline this morning, and Bill Greiner of Mariner Wealth Advisors said that it has much to do with the Federal Reserve. “It’s highly possible that we’ll see Gold and commodities in general continue to drift down until the Fed steps in with some sort of quantitative easing package.” In the past, Gold and other Precious Metals have greatly benefited from quantitative easing. Goldman Sachs’ commodity research team wrote that the Fed is likely to start another round of easing in June.
Likewise, Hussein Allidina of Morgan Stanley wrote that the European Central Bank will be forced to print money to attempt to alleviate some pressure of the eurozone debt crisis. Morgan Stanley predicts an average price for Gold of $1,825 this year and $2,175 in 2013. With prices well below those targets, they are predicting that Gold will spend a portion of the year well above those prices to balance it out.
American stock futures are up slightly after housing reports showed that new homes are being built at a quicker pace than expected. March’s numbers were revised sharply upward, and April’s numbers still showed improvement. However, permits for new construction, seen as a gauge of future demand, are down.
At 9 a.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
Gold – $1,541.10 – Down $17.50.
Silver - $27.50 – Down $0.66.
George Soros Quadruples His Investment In Gold
this is flush in precious metals that you want to use to back up the dump truck & buy because there might not be another... Read More
Gold hits 4-1/2 mo low, Greece heads for elections
* Prices slip again in late New York trade with euro
* Euro, gold fall as Greece fails to form coalition government
* Platinum Week enters second day in London
By Carole Vaporean and Jan Harvey
NEW YORK/LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Gold slipped to a fresh 4-1/2 month low on Tuesday as the euro continued to lose ground to the dollar after Greece's failure to form a coalition government heightened concerns over Europe's financial crisis and led investors to spurn risky assets.
After six rounds of fruitless wrangling, Greece abandoned efforts to form a government and called a new election that some investors fear may hand victory to the leftists, undo the country's financial bailout package, and push it closer to bankruptcy and out of the euro zone.
In response, gold slipped with the euro, which tumbled to new four-month lows in late New York trade. The euro had fallen in five of the last six sessions on worries over Greece's June election prospects, dragging gold down with it.
Spot gold was off 0.88 percent at $1,542.60 an ounce by 3:30 EDT (1930 GMT). U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $18.60 at $1,542.50 an ounce.
Gold hit its lowest level since Dec. 29 at $1,541.10 an ounce and is down nearly 7 percent so far in May, on track for its worst monthly performance since December, as talk that Greece could exit the euro zone has spooked investors.
" The euro has done very poorly against the dollar because of everything going on predominantly in Greece. Gold has gotten sold off quite hard in the last couple of sessions. I think people are unwinding and getting into cash and a little bit of Treasuries, German bunds, and that's about it," said Fred Schoenstein, metals trader at Heraeus in New York.
With the precious metal declining to its lowest point since late December, consumers in top purchasing nations such as India have come into the market, which analysts said could protect the bullion price from a more protracted decline.
Some participants view current levels or slightly below as buying opportunities for the precious metal, which they say will at some point turn up again.
" Gold's negative on the year, but in the long term, will it go up? Probably. But, at this point it's just trend following," said Schoenstein.
Analysts said any bounce in the euro could run out of steam above $1.2880-$1.2900, with peripheral bond yields still at elevated levels, highlighting the risk of contagion from the Greek deadlock spreading to other euro zone countries.
" (Gold's) safe haven status has been tarnished," Richcomm Global Services senior analyst Pradeep Unni said. " It will wobble on the euro's weakness, but in a very short term, bargain hunting and pent-up demand will emerge taking it higher."
ASIAN BUYERS STEP IN
Despite gold's tendency to decline in line with the euro, physical demand among major Asian consumers also worked in gold's favour, traders reported, with buyers stepping in to take advantage of its slide below $1,550 an ounce.
" Jewellers have been buying a lot. At the moment supply is a bit tight for immediate delivery," said a physical dealer in Singapore. " Refiners can't deliver immediate gold because there's a sudden surge in demand. We're seeing demand from India, Thailand and Indonesia."
Nonetheless, dealers in major consumer India say more losses are expected in the precious metal as the rupee strengthens, making dollar-priced bullion more expensive for local buyers.
Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds monitored by Reuters, which issue securities backed by the physical metal, fell by nearly 100,000 ounces on Monday, data from the funds showed.
Among other precious metals, silver dropped to $27.67 an ounce from $28.12 per ounce on Monday, in line with gold's losses. It fell earlier to $27.56, its lowest since Dec. 30.
Platinum group metals outperformed as the annual Platinum Group meeting of miners, refiners, traders, recyclers and consumers in London continued into a second day.
Platinum was off 0.4 percent at $1,428.99 an ounce, while palladium rose 0.6 percent to $590.53 an ounce.
A report by Johnson Matthey on Monday showed both platinum and palladium markets in surplus last year. However, palladium is expected to swing back into deficit next year, on selling of physical metal by investors and as sales from Russian state stocks dry up.
(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London and Lewa Pardomuan in Singapore Editing by Jason Neely, Alison Birrane and Jim Marshall)
Closing Gold & Silver Market Report – 5/15/2012
By Robert DavisMay 15, 2012EURO TUMBLES AS GREEKS WILL HEAD BACK TO POLLS
After weeks of infighting and deadlock among Greek politicians, party leaders declared their inability to form a unified government. The nation will return to the voting booth to reshuffle the deck again in an election that will essentially amount to a referendum on whether Greece should drop the euro as its currency or continue a path of fiscal austerity. The election is expected to be scheduled for June 10 or June 17. The euro tumbled to a four-month low against the American dollar on the announcement, which drove Precious Metals prices down. “If Greece -- and this is the will of the great majority -- wants to stay in the euro, then they have to accept the conditions,” said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. “Otherwise, it isn’t possible. No responsible candidate can hide that from the electorate.”
Wall Street posted losses today on European fears, despite cautiously optimistic news about theAmerican economy. “The economy continues to grow at a decent clip, but there are still a lot of risks coming from overseas,” said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS. Signs of growth could be seen today in retail data, showing that retail sales are growing (albeit at a reduced rate than the past few months) with an overall gain of 0.1 percent. Lower gasoline prices may boost consumer spending by freeing up household incomes for discretionary spending. The core Consumer Price Index, the inflation index most used by the Federal Reserve, rose 0.2 percent, which reflects an annualized rise in prices of 6 percent.
At 5 p.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1,545.30 - Down $17.20.
- Silver - $27.77 - Down $0.65.
Jim Rogers - Volume Is Not Going To Come Back -We've Had A Great 30 Years - That's Finished!"
JPMorgan (and its peers) could be behind the drops in the overall commodity complex as the uncertainty of their position... Read More
Gold Kisses Channel Goodbye
Weekly Bars
Prepared by Jamie Saettele, CMT
Gold has broken below a major trendline (and channel) that extends off of lows in 2008, 2010, and 2011. Focus is now on the December low at 1522.50 and then support from May 2011 and resistance from December 2010 at 1430/60. Look lower against the Monday high of 1586.
LEVELS: 1612 1586 1522.50 1477 1462 1448 1431
Closing Gold & Silver Market Report 5/14/2012
By Brandi BrundidgeMay 14, 2012POLITICAL TURMOIL IN GREECE SUGGESTS POSSIBLE EURO EXIT
Gold has erased all of its gains earned in 2012, thanks to the current financial situation in Europe. The eurozone’s economic and political crises haves been affecting global markets during the past week. “Worries about Europe are pushing people to the dollar,” said Frank McGhee at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC.
The Greek election has left many people concerned that the nation may exit the eurozone, which in turn would create a catastrophe for the financial market. “I think for as long as the crisis in Europe drags on, it’s going to keep sentiment broadly in check. At the moment, Gold has been painted with the risk brush. It’s going to be very much a tracker of the equity markets,” said Nick Trevethan, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Singapore. Economists at Citi have predicted the likelihood of Greece leaving the euro at between 50 and 75 percent. Billionaire investor George Soros said, “The euro is seriously at risk. The consequences of a non-controlled implosion risks to be disastrous.”
Oil prices have continued to drop to the lowest level in almost five months due to Europe’s fiscal crisis and on words from Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, who made it clear that prices could decline even more. “Greece is unable to form a coalition government, and Europe is the biggest problem right now,” said Tom Bentz, a director with BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage Inc. “When the Saudis speak, the market tends to listen. They’ve been trying to talk down the market for a while.”
At 5 p.m. (EDT), the APMEX Precious Metals spot prices were:
- Gold - $1557.80 - Down $27.70.
- Silver - $28.19 - Down $0.78.
Buy Gold Below $3000? ‘You Can’t Lose’
On average gold has an 18-to-20-year life cycle, which implies the bull run will run until 2018-20. read more
Major Bottom in Precious Metals Could Occur This Week
We begin with a daily chart of Gold which shows its daily closing prices and a volatility indicator. read more
Morning Gold & Silver Market Report – 5/14/2012
By Peter LaTonaMay 14, 2012
GOLD DROPS TO 4.5-MONTH LOW ON FALLING EURO
The European debt crisis continues to cause more and more concern, especially after the political deadlock in Greece over the weekend. Gold prices have been moving in tandem with riskier assets for much of the past year, and this European economic uncertainty is fueling movement away from riskier assets. In the end, the same phenomenon is driving Gold prices down. “Gold is under severe pressure. The U.S. dollar is being seen as a safe haven at the moment, and as long as the dollar is appreciating against the euro, this is clearly weighing on the Gold price,” said Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank.
Greece cannot decide whether it will support or oppose the 130 billion-euro bailout offered by the European Union and International Monetary Fund. The roadblock began with May 6 elections, in which Greek politicians came up equally divided on this issue. Greek President Karolos Papoulias had not gained support over the weekend or today, which is reinforcing the view that Greece is heading for bankruptcy and an exit from the eurozone. If a compromise cannot be reached between the two parties, then there will be no choice but to call for another election.
At 9 a.m. (EST), the APMEX Precious Metals prices were:
- Gold - $1,563.10 – Down $22.40.
- Silver - $28.57 – Down $0.39.
Is Gold A Good Investment?
Here we present a few charts that suggest that the current gold price is actually quite cheap! Read More
Gold ticks up on bargain hunting off 4-month low
* Gold may rebound to $1,601.80-technicals
* Coming Up: EZ Industrial production yy Mar 0900 GMT
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on Monday as bargain hunters lifted prices from four-month lows, but gains were capped as an inconclusive Greek election raised the risk the country could exit the euro zone and fanned fears of a worsening debt crisis in the region.
Gold has moved in tandem with riskier assets this year as the turmoil in Europe sent the euro to multi-month lows and investors turned to the safety of the dollar, analysts said.
The U.S. dollar has also been supported by optimism that more positive labour market numbers will be seen soon.
Gold hit an intraday high at $1,585.39 an ounce and was barely changed at $1,578.45 by 0615 GMT. Bullion had tumbled to a low of around $1,573 on Friday, its weakest since early January, on fears that the debt crisis in Europe will hurt global economic growth.
" I think for as long as the crisis in Europe drags on, it's going to keep sentiment broadly in check. At the moment, gold has been painted with the risk brush. It's going to be very much a tracker of the equity markets," said Nick Trevethan, a senior commodity strategist at ANZ in Singapore.
" The range should be from just below $1,580, up towards $1,600. The market really needs to get back towards $1,600 or above in order the confirm we have bottomed."
U.S. gold for June slipped $5.50 an ounce to $1,578.50.
Money managers in gold futures and options cut their net long positions by 20 percent to the lowest level since December 2008, as investors aggressively unwound their bullish bets in the precious metal after a sharp price pullback.
Greece's president will continue talks with the country's political leaders on Monday to try to form a government after an inconclusive election left parliament divided between supporters and opponents of the 130 billion euro EU/IMF bailout.
Investors had turned to gold as a safe haven during the debt crisis last year, sending prices to an all-time high of around $1,920 an ounce. But this year, gold is trading more in line as a commodity that moves in the opposite direction to the U.S. dollar.
The euro dipped to $1.2878 at one point on trading platform EBS, its lowest level since Jan. 23, after Greek political leaders failed in their latest efforts to form a ruling coalition.
The Nikkei inched higher on Monday as China's monetary easing countered unease ahead of Greece's last-ditch attempt to form a coalition government later in the day. Shares outside Japan slipped.
In the physical market, jewellery makers and speculators took advantage of last week's drop in prices.
" We've seen physical buying interest. But people are still bearish about the market because of the strong dollar and worries that Greece won't be able to solve its problems," said a dealer in Hong Kong.
" Investors are not so aggressive, and I think the jeweller sector is more important. Supply is a bit tight in the physical market."
GOLD – WHAT CORRECTION?
The physical precious metals market is still very strong and central banks around the world continuing to buy. read more
Six Months Left - Can They Do It? - Mike Krieger
If they are going to print and print big they need commodities as low as possible. Read More