Gold and Silver Futures Fall, Spot Gold Gains
Spot gold prices jumped more than one percent during Asian trading hours on Wednesday as buyers stacked up gold bars and coins after prices momentarily plunged to its lowest level in last two years on Monday; however, gold futures slipped as overall sentiment on the metal still remains pessimistic amid continued outflows from gold-backed ETFs. Silver futures also fell in early trading on Wednesday.
At last check, U.S. gold futures for June delivery edged down 0.33% to 1,381.82 an ounce while spot gold climbed 1.01% to $ 1,381.55 an ounce. Silver futures tumbled 1.13% to $23.36
Growing uncertainty over how long the Federal Reserve will continue with its multi-billion monthly bond purchase program put pressure on the metal from last week. The Fed’s latest minutes showed that some policymakers were discontent with ongoing quantitative easing or QE3.
On Monday, the sell-off intensified after China’s first quarter GDP data showed less-than-expected growth.
Earlier today, the physical side demand in Asia picked up sharply as jewelers pounced on the opportunity, leading to dearth of gold bars and coins in Hong Kong and Singapore.
“People are actually buying everything, gold bars, gold coins. People are rushing to get a hand on it. We have a problem meeting the demand because we are unable to get new supply,” said Brian Lan, managing director of GoldSilver Central in Singapore, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, holdings of world’s largest gold-backed ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE: GLD) continued to dwindle on Tuesday, a data provided by Reuters showed. Holdings dropped 0.73 percent to 1,145.92 tons on Tuesday from 1,154.34 tons on Monday. Also, holdings of global gold-backed ETFs have fallen to their lowest level since late 2011.
More Posts by this author
- Stocks End Higher
- Gold Prices Edge Higher but Struggle to Stay Above $1400; Silver Prices Slip
- Stocks Bounce Back, IBM Shares Tumble but NASDAQ Climbs More Than 1%
- Forex Market Update: Yen Falls Sharply against U.S. Dollar
- Stocks Mixed in Early Trading
- Gold Prices Extend Gains, Silver Prices Also Jump
- Futures Point to Higher Start
 |
Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
|
