gold price held firm near $1,620 per ounce Friday morning despite encouraging economic news in the U.S. and Europe

The gold price held firm near $1,620 per ounce Friday morning despite encouraging economic news in the U.S. and Europe. While the price of gold stabilized, silver rallied $0.31, or 1.0%, to $30.27 per ounce. U.S. equity markets looked to open substantially higher, with S&P 500 futures up 15.00 points, or 1.3%, at 1,164.00.

Weekly jobless claims in the U.S. fell 37,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 391,000, the lowest level since April 2 and below the consensus estimate among economists. GDP was revised up from 1.0% to 1.3%, above the 1.2% expected by economists. In Germany, the lower house of parliament voted to expand the size of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF), and the upper house is expected to pass the measure on Friday.

Commenting on Thursday’s gold price sell-off, Standard Bank Plc analyst Marc Ground wrote in a note to clients that “Momentum is lacking as investors adopt a seemingly cautious attitude to entering the gold market after last week’s abrupt price fall.”

Part of yesterday’s move lower in the gold price was fueled by a rare bit of encouraging news in the euro zone. The European Parliament voted yesterday to more automatically enforce sanctions against euro zone nations that do not adhere to deficit and debt limits. The stricter regulations will accompany the European policymakers’ more pressing goal of preventing concerns of a Greek default from further damaging the financial condition of Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

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